CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati Police Department will get a top-to-bottom review from a team of 12 criminal justice consultants, the latest in a series of reforms after a university police officer killed an unarmed black motorist last summer.
The university announced Wednesday it selected Exiger, a nationally recognized police monitoring firm, to examine how UCPD operates.
Specifically, the university wants Exiger to focus on:
- UCPD policies and procedures;
- the department's data collection, data usage, automation and records management;
- department training;
- accountability;
- recruiting, hiring, promotion and retention efforts; and
- department equipment and technology.
The 12-member Exiger team will meet with students, faculty, staff, administrators, UCPD officers, Cincinnati police officers and residents, according to UCPD spokeswoman Michele Ralston. They'll also compare UCPD's standards against other campus law enforcement agencies, as well as city police departments.
UC expects to have an interim report from the Exiger team by April, and a final report by June 1, Ralston said.
The team includes:
- Jeff Schlanger, managing director and president of Exiger's Advisory Group and former deputy primary monitor for the Los Angeles Police Department consent decree
- Charles Ramsey, former commissioner of Philadelphia Police Department and co-chair of President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
- John Thomas, chief, University of Southern California Office of Public Safety
- Beth Corriea, attorney and risk management consultant to police departments including LAPD
- Sandy Jo MacArthur, 35-year veteran of LAPD, oversaw consent decree requirements
- Mark Porter, 30 years of experience in higher education law enforcement management, executive director of Public Safety and police chief for Brown University
- Nola M. Joyce, 25 years of public sector experience, current deputy commissioner for Philadelphia PD
- Maggie Goodrich, chief information officer for LAPD, manages IT Bureau operations
- Roberto A Villasenor, chief of police, Tucson Police Department
- Patrick Harnett, spent 32 years with New York Police Department
- James McShane, 24-year veteran of NYPD, vice president of Public Safety for Columbia University
- Joan Brody, project manager with experience in federal investigations and consent decrees
UC President Santa Ono called for the top-to-bottom review after then-Officer Ray Tensing shot Samuel DuBose in the head during an off-campus traffic stop in July; Tensing was charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter, dismissed from his job and has pleaded not guilty. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11.
Since DuBose's death, UC has reorganized its public safety operation and added new positions, hiring Cincinnati Police Department veteran James Whalen to be director of Public Safety, Gregory Baker, former head of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence, as UC's director of Police Community Relations, and appointing crime researcher Dr. Robin Engel as vice president for Safety and Reform. Jason Goodrich remains chief of UCPD.
Last month, the university settled with the DuBose family for $4.85 million plus free tuition for DuBose's 12 children.
