The recent suspensions of two Cincinnati Police Officers for using racial slurs on duty could result in a change to city policy. Some elected officials are pushing for zero-tolerance, where workers are fired after one use of a racial slur.
On the eve of the three-year anniversary of Kyle Plush s death, the city of Cincinnati has agreed to pay $6 million to the teenager s family to settle a wrongful death lawsuit, the second-largest settlement in city history.
The suit was filed after police and 911 center workers failed to rescue the teen, who died after he became trapped under the seat of the minivan he drove to school.
Plush voice-called 911 on April 10, 2018 from the parking lot of Seven Hills School where he was trapped inside a Honda Odyssey. Help never arrived. His death prompted months of city hearings and allegations that the 911 center wasn t property staffed or trained, and in August 2019 the Plush family sued the city.
On April 7, 2001, according to testimony in Hamilton County Municipal Court:
Two off-duty Cincinnati Police officers working late-night security at the Warehouse bar, 1313 Vine St., spotted 19-year-old Timothy Thomas on the street. They knew he was wanted on 14 outstanding warrants, most were traffic offenses. Thomas recognized one of the officers and ran.
“I’m chasing a Black man, about 6 feet tall, wearing a red bandana and an Indy 500 jacket, Officer David Damico radioed a dispatcher.
A dozen officers joined the chase down streets and alleys. Officer Stephen Roach, driving south on Republic Street, saw Thomas jumping a fence. He ran from his squad car and confronted Thomas in an alley behind 1224 Republic.