The Hamilton County Association of Chiefs of Police is calling out “gaps in the judicial process” after a brawl filmed from multiple angles in downtown Cincinnati went viral last month.
In a statement released Aug. 8, the association said: “It is not enough to arrest violent offenders if they are swiftly released back into our neighborhoods due to lax bail practices or insufficient sentencing.”
The association says it will host a roundtable discussion within the next 30 days with members of the judiciary, prosecutors, elected officials and other partners about ways to strengthen public safety.
This comes as the brawl drew national attention. Some criticized the police for their response time – the first 911 call came at 3:06 a.m. and the first officers arrived at 3:12 a.m. Others criticized the mayor and other leaders of the Democrat-controlled Cincinnati government for soft crime policies.
Criticism of Hamilton County’s judges is not new. Before Democrat Connie Pillich was elected to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, that office routinely called out cases and judges on its Facebook page. Under the leadership of now-Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters and his successor, Melissa Powers, both Republicans, the posts would highlight judges who set bonds they believed were too low or lenient.
