On March 16, GAPP sent to Sheriff Simon Leis, Jr. the letter that has been circulated expressing community concerns about the beating of an area diabetic man by Sheriff’s deputies. The letter was signed by 241 citizens of Anderson Township, Hamilton County and beyond. A copy of the letter was also sent to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, and the three Hamilton County Commissioners, Todd Portune, Greg Hartmann and Chris Monzel. GAPP representatives met with Sheriff Leis on April 5 and received the following response from him (which was directed to the Forest Hills Journal) on April 12, 2011. Download letter from Sherrif Leis.
The following article appeared online in the Forest Hills Journal on Thursday, March 17.
This article stating that the officers would not face criminal charges appeared on March 8.
GAPP has concluded our collecting of signatures for this letter. Individuals may wish to send their own comments to Sheriff Leis at:
Sheriff Simon L. Leis, Jr.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
1000 Sycamore St. Room 110
Cincinnati, OH 45202
For more information, the following excerpt from the 12-30-10 online Enquirer article offers a summary of the events:
“Lawsuit: Diabetic ‘pummeled,’ shocked by Hamilton County deputies”
by Sharon Coolidge
“John Harmon was coming off a late night at work when he left his downtown marketing firm for his Anderson Township home just after midnight in October 2009.
The 52-year-old longtime diabetic’s blood sugar levels had dipped to a dangerously low level causing him to weave into another lane.
A Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy spotted him on Clough Pike and suspected drunken driving…
Deputies broke the window of Harmon’s SUV, shocked him seven times with a Taser, cut him out of his seatbelt and wrestled him to the ground, severely dislocating his elbow, and causing trauma to his shoulder and thumb.
The deputies’ actions prompted a state highway patrol trooper to pull one deputy away from Harmon because he was so concerned about how Harmon was being treated. That trooper alerted his bosses to the deputies’ actions.
Even after learning the incident was a medical emergency, deputies charged Harmon with resisting arrest and failing to comply with a police officer’s order…
Harmon and his wife, Stephanie Harmon, filed a civil rights lawsuit Dec. 20 in U.S. District Court against Hamilton County, the sheriff’s office and four deputies and their supervisor.”
These four Cincinnati Enquirer articles offer in-depth details and coverage of the GAPP meeting on January 18, 2011: