A Forest Park couple has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Cincinnati, claiming police brutality.

        Steve and Stephanie Ledford allege Mr. Ledford was assaulted by Officer Donald B. Elsaesser and six unidentified police officers when he was wrongfully stopped and arrested at 3 a.m. July 22, 2000.

        The Ledfords seek at least $2 million in compensatory damages and at least $2 million in punitive damages.

        Mr. Ledford says in his lawsuit that he was mistaken for another African-American male who was wanted by police, but he did not match the description of the wanted man.

        The lawsuit claims the officers assaulted Mr. Ledford, used a chemical irritant believed to be Mace, failed to give him medication for his epilepsy, and failed to promptly respond to his seizures.
       

Escaped inmates remain at large

               ELKTON, Ohio — Two inmates who escaped from a federal prison in this eastern Ohio city remained at large Sunday, the State Highway Patrol said.

        The Federal Correctional Institution inmates apparently es caped about 7 p.m. Saturday, prison officials said. The patrol helped search the area by air and on the ground, but the inmates had not been found Sunday, officials said.

        The 2,400-inmate low-security prison is about 20 miles south of Youngstown in Columbiana County. Inmates Rafael Herrera and Juan Gonzales-Valencia breached a fence in the satellite compound next to the main prison building.
       

Ohio Lottery sales decline

               COLUMBUS — The drop in sales for the Ohio Lottery in fiscal 2001 may be the biggest such decline in the nation.

        Lottery sales for the fiscal year that ended June 30 totaled $1.92 billion, compared with $2.15 billion in the previous fiscal year, for a 10.7 percent decrease.

        The Columbus Dispatch, using unofficial sales figures it compiled from lotteries across the nation, said indications are that no other state had lottery sales go down by such a large percentage in that period.

        Overall, 37 states and the District of Columbia have lotteries. The Dispatch said Sunday that 18 lotteries had sales increases, 16 reported decreases and four were flat — less than 1 percent ahead or behind.

        The lottery earned $637 million in fiscal 2001. That's a $49 million decline from a year earlier and well below 1997, when lottery profits for education peaked at $749 million.
       

Metro offers low fare to help reduce smog

               With smog season upon us, Metro is offering Greater Cincinnatians a 50-cent flat fare on every regular bus route through Labor Day.

        It's an effort to improve air quality by luring commuters from their cars, Metro officials say. A smog alert is in effect in Cincinnati through today.

        Funding for the reduced fare program comes from federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality dollars made available through the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

        For bus schedules and information, call MetroCenter at (513) 621-4455 weekdays 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
       

St. Vincent de Paul seeks fans, AC units

               The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is asking Greater Cincinnati residents to donate fans and window air conditioners for families suffering through the blistering summer heat.

        You can drop off new or used fans at one of 11 St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores in Hamilton County or Northern Kentucky or any YMCA location.

        For details, call the Cincinnati District Council at (513) 562-8841 or the Northern Kentukcy Council at (859) 341-3212.

        The fan drive is sponsored by WCPO—TV, WRRM and WMOJ radio stations and the YMCA.

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