Directors of Ohio's ACLU chapter will vote Saturday on whether to take Cincinnati to court over allegations that police officers target black people because of their skin color.

        If they decide to tackle the issue — and their general counsel expects them to — they will pattern their legal work after other American Civil Liberties Union lawsuits that have brought dramatic change to police departments across the country.

        “The ACLU has a lot of experience in this kind of law,” said Cincinnati lawyer Scott Greenwood, the group's attorney, who will recommend approval when the officials meet Saturday in Columbus. “And we've done a lot of the legwork already.”

        The ACLU's interest was piqued by what Mr. Greenwood has called a pattern of fatal incidents involving officers and African-Americans.

        Since 1995, 13 people have been killed in situations with Cincinnati officers. All of them were black, including Roger Owensby Jr., who suffocated in police custody Nov. 7. Two officers face charges in connection with his death.

        Similar allegations of race-based policing have plagued departments across the country:

        • An ACLU lawsuit in Pittsburgh in 1996 prompted court-ordered monitoring of the police department.

        • Lawsuits forced the New Jersey Highway Patrol and police departments in Los Angeles and Highland Park, Ill., to collect race data.

        • Louisville police will soon start to collect race information on all traffic stops, a move made after allegations last year that officers engage in racial profiling.

        Cincinnati Police Division leaders, including Chief Tom Streicher, have acknowledged that some officers practice racial profiling. But the chief has said that the department does not condone it, and that he and other top administrators stress against it.

        In a meeting with the Enquirer's editorial board Tuesday, leaders of the community action group Cincinnati Black United Front said discussion with Cincinnati police had done little to solve the problem.

        The group is helping Cincinnati lawyer Ken Lawson sort through more than 300 racial-profiling claims to gather fodder for another potential lawsuit on the same topic.

        The Rev. Damon Lynch III, Black United Front president, defined racial profiling as when “skin color becomes evidence for the propensity to commit crimes.”

        Turning to the legal system seems like the best solution, said Juleana Frierson, chief of staff for the group.

        “We want (racial profiling) to stop,” she said. “We want to be respected like any other citizen in the city of Cincinnati. How do we get there? We start at the top.

        “If we're looking at the police issue, you have to look at the management and leadership of the Cincinnati police department,” Ms. Frierson said. “In order for these police to participate in racial profiling, it has to be allowed (by management).”

Shirey a finalist for new job in Texas
Lawmakers in Ohio set agenda
Levy generosity: The bills are now due
Cincinnati should lead off ballpark-stamps lineup
Onlookers mourn city's loss
Boy held in death of Northside girl, 13
Electric room heaters could reduce bills
UC to build new 'Sander'
Villa Hills should end turmoil
Heroic acts often defy reason
ACLU weighs suit on profiling
Another rate hike in pipeline
Aquifer's future a concern
Blue Grass Airport 'loses' runway
Bunning decries labor contributions
Clermont watches water
Gov. Patton prayer event leaves some out
Historic log building leveled; Landmark's end angers residents
Kenton Dems get new boss
Kenton to defend tax increase
Miami male athletes lose discrimination claim
PSC wants quicker gas-cost changes
Publishing morgue photos a worry
School funding solution continues to be elusive
Seizure aboard TANK bus raises concerns about safety
Stepmom cites boy's tearful admission
Tax abatement granted
U.S. revolution museum plans $3M expansion
Utilities ordered to file changes monthly
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report