Cincinnati's Acting City Manager said Monday the city is contracting with two firms to conduct an independent review of the Kyle Plush tragedy.
Patrick Duhaney announced during a city council committee meeting Mission Critical Partners LLC (MCP) and 21st Century Policing LLC (21CP) will begin reviews immediately and prepare reports and make recommendations on their findings.
Duhaney says MCP is a 911 center expert.
"MCP will provide a comprehensive analysis of the city's 911 response to the April 10, 2018, incident," Duhaney said. "In addition, they will also provide us with a 911 center organizational analysis with a goal of indentifying the staffing, policies and procedure enhancements and leadership that the city needs in today's 911 environment as well as to help prepare for the future environment that next generation 911 will bring."
The acting city manager said 21CP will focus more on the police department response to the Plush incident.
"They will conduct a thorough review of the investigation, the policies and procedures utilized in the death of Kyle Plush," Duhaney said. "21CP will assist the city in identifying deficiencies in technology, best practices and the policies and procedures and focus on any core factors contributing to the causes of any identified deficiencies. Following this review, they will provide the CPD and the city with recommended action items that are justified and correspond with industry standards and best practices in order to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future."
MCP will be paid $98,200 and 21CP is charging $87,500.
The mayor and all nine city council members had asked for an independent review of the city's failed response to Kyle's two 911 calls for help on April 10. He died after getting trapped in a van at the Seven Hills school parking lot.
Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman has asked the reports and recommendations from these two groups be shared with the Plush family and council members before they are released publically. Those findings are expected in the fall, possibly as soon as September.
The acting city manager and the police department have implemented a number of changes at the city's emergency communications center and the police department following the failures in April event. More changes are in the works and will be implemented in the coming weeks and months.
Council's Law and Public Safety Committee has had the Plush investigation on its agenda for the last three meetings and it's also expected to be discussed again on June 25.
