WEST CHESTER TWP. — Word reached Tristate suburbs Wednesday that Cincinnati had reached a tentative settlement in the racial profiling lawsuit against city police. It was greeted largely with disinterested shrugs.

        Many say they have watched the negotiations from afar, certain they are insulated from the racial tension that has gripped Cincinnati for nearly a year.

        “I don't think it's going to have a big impact on the people out here in Warren County,” said Tim Tepe, a lawyer who lives in Lebanon. “We don't have the same racial issues that they have downtown.”

        He goes downtown often for Bengals and Reds games and cultural events, he said. Neither the riots nor the boycott have changed that.

        Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman said he and other city officials have observed Cincinnati's problems — and they've responded.

        “I don't think the events of the last year have affected the city of Hamilton at all,” Chief Ferdelman said. “We've worked very hard to keep the lines of communications open” between city residents and police.

        Racial profiling, the chief said, is not a hot-button issue in Butler County. That's because nearly two years ago, all local police chiefs adopted resolutions against stopping motorists based on race.

        What's happening in Cincinnati — a proposed settlement of a lawsuit that accused city police of harassing and targeting blacks on the basis of race — could have ramifications in Middletown, said Louie F. Cox, president of that city's NAACP. He still is convinced racial profiling happens in the suburbs.

        “I think the area police departments will take a long look at the end results of this settlement,” Mr. Cox said.

        Tourism officials applauded the settlement. But they did not seem worried their summer season would have been threatened by lingering negotiations.

        “I think people who want to come to our region are going to come anyway,” said Margaret Drexel, marketing director for the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

        Still, Ms. Drexel, a Symmes Township resident, said she is glad that some of the issues between African-Americans and Cincinnati police might be getting worked out.

        “It's a move ahead for the city,” she said.

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