CINCINNATI — An investigation is underway after three people, including a 79-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman, were hurt in a fight outside the Montgomery Inn Boathouse last month that involved WCPO 9 Chief Meteorologist Steve Raleigh and at least one member of his family.
According to a police incident report, officers were called to the scene of a fight in the parking lot of the Riverside Drive restaurant just after 9 p.m. on June 22.
"Suspect approached victim #1 striking him with a closed fist in the head knocking him to the ground," causing injuries, the report reads. "Victim #2 and victim #3 while attempting to aid victim #1 was struck and shoved to the ground by the suspect."
The police report was heavily redacted, with no information about the nature of the injuries, but family of the victims say Doug Morrow, 79, was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion, and Lois Morrow, 76, was hospitalized with a concussion, fractured skull, brain bleed, a cut that required staples in the back of her head and a lens detached from her eye.
No charges have been filed. There was only one suspect listed on the police incident report; their identification was redacted.
Cincinnati police Lieutenant Jonathan Cunningham said the incident remains under investigation.
"CPD has an obligation to thoroughly investigate all reported offenses, as is currently being done by our Central Business investigators in this case. No two investigations are the same, meaning some investigations may take longer than others depending on the number of victims, witnesses, and associated evidence, etc.," Cunningham said in a statement to WCPO 9.
The daughter of the injured couple posted video of the incident to Facebook. Arguing can be heard off camera, followed by an escalation of shouting and what appears to be physical contact between multiple people, but it does not show any clear cut assault. After the scuffle, the video shows the older man and woman on the ground. The woman is seen bleeding from her head.
You can watch the full video here:
The family held a press conference with their lawyer, Konrad Kircher, on Monday to tell their side of the story and call for accountability. Married couple Doug and Lois Morrow and their son Troy Morrow all say they were injured in an incident that never should have happened.
They said the assault stemmed from a car accident in the parking lot when Doug was driving with Lois in the passenger seat of their 2005 Ford F-150. They were picking up their son, Troy, from Montgomery Inn where Troy worked. They picked him up from the entrance to the restaurant, and began to pull back out of the 180-degree driveway to get back to the road when they say the car was struck by a black Cadillac Escalade in the front right coming from the parking lot area.
One person got out of the Escalade, the family said.
Troy said an argument then ensued with someone else who came from the direction of the restaurant, insisting that police not be called and that they just exchange insurance. Kircher said just 2 months before, Doug had been burned after agreeing to just exchange insurance and not call police and that ended up in him paying for his own damages to his car.
Doug also suspected the person driving was drinking, and wanted to call police, his daughter said in a Facebook post. The police incident report also listed the suspect as possibly being under the influence of alcohol.
Troy says while he was arguing with the person who had come from the restaurant, he recalled hearing "No one's gonna hit my dad" before he says he was "clocked" in the head. He said the person then jumped on top of him and choked him. Doug said upon seeing this, he tried to get that person off of Troy, hitting him. Doug said he didn't know who the person was who jumped on his son. Kircher said the person on top of Troy either punched or pushed him away so hard that he fell back to the pavement, semi-conscious.
Lois said upon seeing the commotion, she "tapped someone on the shoulder," asking for help not knowing who it was, and then "saw that arm come around and punch me." She was knocked to the ground, bleeding from her head and vomiting because of the concussion, Kircher said. Lois woke up in the hospital two days later, not remembering a thing, but said she was "scared to death" seeing all the blood. She was in the hospital for four days in total, she said.
"I don’t know what reason that guy had to hit me like that," Lois said holding back tears. "All I did was ask for help. I didn’t say no bad names to him”
Troy said the violence was unprovoked.
“I never even lifted my hands even so much as a defensive manner," Troy said of the entire encounter.
Kevin Youkilis, the former Sycamore High School and University of Cincinnati baseball star, can be seen in the video also. Youkilis, who went on to play for the Boston Red Sox for 8+ years, was in town as a color commentator for the Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds series that weekend.
Youkilis released a statement on social media, saying he was not involved in the incident, but rather "saw a horrible chain of events unfold" and was trying to help those injured and "protect anyone else from being harmed."
The Morrows are recovering from their injuries, and Kircher said that after the press conference, they will "sit on the sidelines again" and put their faith in the criminal investigation. Kircher said they were told the investigation would be wrapped up next week, but that they are asking for three things:
1. That the truth be told
2. That those involved accept responsibility, including compensation
3. An apology is made to the Morrow family
Steve Raleigh is referring us to his attorney, Merlyn Shiverdecker, who declined to do an interview and told us there is no comment at this time.
Shiverdecker did say they are in contact with police and prosecutors and are fully cooperating with the investigation.
Below is a statement from WCPO vice president and general manager Jeff Brogan:
We continue to monitor developments and official findings of the police investigation into the incident involving Steve Raleigh’s family. WCPO will cover the story with a commitment to balanced reporting. Since Steve’s family is the subject of a news story, he will be off work for now.
