January 9, 2019

Via Email: Eliot.Isaac@cincinnati-oh.gov

Chief Eliot Isaac

Cincinnati Police Department
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Re: Zero-Tolerance Policy for Use of Racial Slurs by Cincinnati Police

President Officers
Donyetta D. Bailey, Esq.
Dear Chief Isaac:
Vice President
Wednesday G. Shipp, Esq. The Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati (BLAC) is writing you this open
letter concerning the conduct of Officer Dennis Barnette while he was on duty
Treasurer acting under color of law. Specifically, on December 23, 2018, Officer Barnette
Marsha Johnson, Esq. called an African American female patron of Brownstown Nightclub the “N”
Word.
Communications Officer
Candice Thompson, Esq. We are shocked and appalled by his behavior, and we are calling for a zero-
tolerance policy for Cincinnati Police Officers who engage in such conduct both
Recording Secretary on or off the job.
Brittany Collins, Esq.
A police officer is in a position that requires trust and respect from the
Parliamentarian community, and officers must be free of racial prejudice when engaging with
Hon. Fanon A. Rucker the public. The Cincinnati Police Department is not free from a histroy of racism
and discrimination towards members of the African American community, but,
through the implementation and continued support of the Collaborative
Agreement, we’ve taken great strides. The use of racial slurs by one of your
P.O. Box 3181 officers takes us back to a dark time that we’d rather not revisit, and his actions
Cincinnati, OH 45201-3181 should not be tolerated.

We are calling for the termination of his employment because he violated the
position of trust and respect that his badge commands and we are no longer
confident that he can engage in biased-free policing in our City. We also believe
that you need to send a message to other officers and the community that such
behavior will not be tolerated and that your officers are here to protect and serve
the entire community without consideration of race.

Very Truly Yours,

Donyetta D. Bailey

An Affiliate of the
National Bar Association