CINCINNATI — Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney is trying to find solutions for repeated "street takeovers" in downtown Cincinnati — including the possibility of giving participants an outlet off of the city's roads.
Early Sunday morning, one takeover blocked traffic at the intersection of 2nd and Race streets. It comes weeks after Cincinnati police responded to multiple street takeovers, including one that stopped drivers of I-71 at the Lytle Tunnel.
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Kearney said drivers doing burnouts and donuts in the middle of the road put both residents and police responding to the scene in danger. One idea she put on the table is to open the fairgrounds to give people a space where they can participate away from traffic.
"I threw it out as an idea," Kearney said. "I don't know what happens with the Hamilton County Fairgrounds when the fair's not going on — it looks like it's vacant a lot of the time, so there's an idea. ... You know these are mainly young people, many are minors, and so in some cities, they're saying let's bring the parents in, let's bring the guardians in, let's fine them but also make them go into counseling and do community service. That's a great idea."
Kearney said she does not believe solutions should include charging those involved with felonies — or changing police policies.
Cincinnati Police Union President Dan Hils said there are "all sorts of handicaps" that stop officers from pursuing suspects in takeovers — including CPD's vehicle pursuit policy. CPD officers are only permitted to engage in a vehicle pursuit if the person fleeing is suspected of committing a "violent felony offense."
Kearney said that policy should remain in order to keep police and the public safe.
"What you're doing is putting your officers and the public in danger for something that doesn't rise to that level. I mean, if someone is on a motorcycle doing a wheelie, do you really want to chase that person and possibly have the officer killed or bystanders killed because this person did a wheelie?" Kearney said.
The department updated its policy last year after a deadly crash in Northern Kentucky that started as a police chase in Cincinnati.
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