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Evendale releases independent review of Feb. 7 response and pledges to implement eight recommendations
Summary
Evendale Village officials released a report by 21 CP Solutions on the Feb. 7 demonstration response, saying officers followed existing policy but pledging to adopt eight recommendations covering training, equipment testing, body‑worn camera rules and interjurisdictional notification; the Hamilton County prosecutor will review a related theft report.
Evendale Village officials on Feb. 7 released an independent review by 21 CP Solutions of the village's police response to demonstrations earlier that day and pledged to adopt the report's eight recommendations.
Mayor Richard Feynon said the report was impartial and thorough and that village leaders “will not let hate define who we are.” He described the report as a minute-by-minute review and said the village would accept and act on its findings while pursuing ‘‘a new era of community engagement, accountability, [and] transparency.’’
The chair of the council's public safety oversight committee, who read the recommendations at the meeting, said there are eight total: six aimed at Evendale and two directed at Hamilton County agencies. The Evendale-specific recommendations include requiring protest-management and crowd-control training through OPOTA (the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy), specialized constitutional-issues training for officers, mandatory testing on new equipment before field use, revisions to the body‑worn camera policy to forbid obstructions during recording, routine policy and training refreshers, and a requirement that Evendale officers notify neighboring jurisdictions before taking action outside village limits.
The two county-level recommendations urge the Hamilton County Emergency Communications Center and Emergency Management to develop a protocol to notify schools of dangerous situations and ask the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office to review the conduct of demonstrators who were in county jurisdictions.
At the meeting, Tim, identified in the transcript as Evendale’s police chief, said the village’s internal review matched 21 CP’s findings and that he believed officers did not violate current policies. “They do not violate any, specific policies or procedures,” he said. Officials emphasized the report did not make disciplinary determinations and that any allegations of policy violations would be acted on if the independent review or further inquiry warranted it.
Village officials said the report was provided to Lincoln Heights officials earlier the same day; Charles Ramsey, head of 21 CP Solutions, met with Lincoln Heights leaders and 21 CP conducted two additional interviews and a briefing beyond its standard operating procedure. The village said it had no role in altering the report’s conclusions.
Officials also said they have launched a public dashboard to track progress on implementing the Evendale recommendations and will continue outreach with leaders in the Princeton School District and neighboring communities to address child safety and trauma.
Additionally, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office received the report and will review whether filing charges is appropriate in a theft report that had been filed relating to one demonstrator; the village described that matter as pending and under prosecutor review.
Public commenters at the meeting voiced distrust and concerns that officers might hold white‑supremacist sympathies and demanded assurances of safety and nonretaliation; council members acknowledged the community’s pain, apologized for anguish caused by the events and said they would work to rebuild relationships.
The meeting closed with the village reiterating its commitment to follow the recommendations and to keep the public updated on implementation progress.
