CINCINNATI — New documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives give some insight into what led to a deadly Cincinnati police pursuit in August 2020.
Raymond and Gayle Laible were killed and two others were injured outside of Press on Monmouth in Newport after suspect Mason Meyer lost control of his vehicle during a multi-state chase.
Documents released as part of a request in a federal lawsuit detail the plans to arrest Mason Meyer before the fatal crash.
Meyer was wanted in 2020 for alleged drug and gun trafficking. He had multiple felony convictions and officials said he was known for kidnapping people who did not pay him. Documents show he had previously run away from police.
Investigators carefully mapped out a plan to arrest him. That plan lists how officers should respond to different scenarios, including if Meyer fled in a vehicle.
If Meyer headed towards the car, agents were told to attempt to open-air assault. If he gained access to the vehicle, agents would conduct a vehicle stabilization pin. If unsuccessful, then a felon traffic stop with K-9s was listed next. The plan notes it is impossible to prepare for every contingency.
Meyer made it past all of those plans. He led police through the city, with officers zipping through back alleys inches from nearby homes.
The report said any pursuit will be conducted in line with the Cincinnati Police Department's policy, which lists safety precautions and outlines when pursuits should be called off. The pursuit was not called off, resulting in the Laibles' deaths.
Their daughter spoke with WCPO after CPD changed its pursuit policy.
“These policy changes are not going to bring back my parents,” Angela Laible Endress said.
Her family is suing the city of Cincinnati and the CPD officers involved in the pursuit.
"The police officers were still never held accountable for what they did with their actions," Endress said. "They need to pay for their actions because my parents are dead."
The lawsuits continue to be litigated.
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