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Civil rights group alleges racial profiling by Hamilton police

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer Updated 8:09 PM Tuesday, November 29, 2011

HAMILTON — A civil rights organization is looking into allegations that minorities are being unfairly treated by Hamilton police and the Butler County court system.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference will host a town hall meeting at 5 p.m. at Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, 300 S. Front St., across the street from the Hamilton Police Department headquarters.

SCLC leaders Bishop Richard E. Cox and Keith Lander said they are responding to complaints from Hamilton residents who claim police are mistreating blacks and Hispanics, and targeting those groups for arrest. They said they are also responding to a complaint from Margaret Pruitt, the mother of Tyree Johnson, a black juvenile who was convicted of robbery and sentenced in adult court to 21 years in prison.

“The purpose of the meeting is to collect testimony from the citizens about how they were mistreated by the police department,” said Lander, Dayton SCLC chairman. “We will then sort through the complaints and forward those that have merit to the U.S. Justice Department. We feel there should be an investigation.”

Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman said that accusations of racial profiling by Hamilton officers are “simply not true.” He said a review by his department of the Johnson case concluded there was a proper investigation and a jury agreed with the allegations.

“We’ve had this before, where a parent thinks that their son or child was wrongfully accused. I think the proper venue to address that is in appellate court,” Ferdelman said.”

Ferdelman said he doesn’t plan to attend the meeting because it would be “counterproductive.”

“We’ll talk to anyone in the proper setting. We have in the past and we will in the future,” he said.

Cox, president of the Dayton chapter and national SCLC board member, said he has been part of similar civil rights campaigns in many cities and has seen positive results, with improved relations between police and minority communities.

“There seems to be a trend all over the country. Police departments are overreacting in black communities,” he said. “We hope they will listen to us and hopefully they’ll see where they’ve done wrong.”

How to go

What: Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, 300 S. Front St.

Why: A forum for residents to air complaints about the Hamilton Police Department and Butler County courts

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