Civil Rights Groups Seeking End To 'Qualified Immunity' In Ohio

A coalition of local and statewide civil rights groups are trying to end qualified immunity in Ohio.

The group, Accountability Now Ohio, set up a petition drive in Cincinnati Saturday afternoon. Their goal is to collect about two thousand signatures from Montgomery, Franklin and Hamilton counties in order to register as a political action committee (PAC).

Once they qualify as a PAC, the coalition will start hosting more petition drives in at least 44 counties to gather 440,000 signatures, with the goal of getting a ballot measure on the November 2022 ballot that would prohibit the use of qualified immunity — the legal practice that shields government officials from civil lawsuits by saying that they had made a “reasonable mistake” when performing their duties — in Ohio.

Qualified immunity is often used in police brutality cases, where white officers are sued for killing unarmed Black people, said Iris Roley, a member of the Cincinnati Black United Front (CUBF), which has been fighting to end qualified immunity for the past 20 years.

“What I do have more time for is collective organizations and collective bodies coming together to eradicate the opportunity of police to kill, maim, murder and harm Black people,” Roley said. “I do not apologize for fighting for Black folk. Let me tell you about the decades and centuries of brutality. I'm surprised we are as well as we are today.”

The work is exhausting and requires all hands on deck, Roley said, urging everyone to get involved, especially the non-Black Ohians.

“We got to keep our eyes collectively on all systems,” Roley said. “We have to. If we don't they find it in another way. So our process works when people work together and we are able to hold [the police] accountable.”

The CBUF has been working closely with Accountability Now Ohio. The group’s last petition drive stop is in Columbus in early May.

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