Lockland's school Board is calling for an independent investigation into the interaction between a police officer and a van of armed neo-Nazis next to a school parking lot on Feb. 7.
Superintendent Bob Longworth says they have video of an Evendale police officer pulling into the lot ahead of the U-Haul and interacting with the occupants after a disturbance on a nearby I-75 overpass.
The neo-Nazis had been waving flags with swastikas and a banner on the Vision Way I-75 overpass, between Lincoln Heights and Evendale. They left after they were confronted by counter-protestors.
Surveillance video released by the school and viewed by WVXU shows the cruiser and the U-Haul leave southbound I-75, at the Lockland exit. Both vehicles cross South Cooper Avenue and pull into an alley between the school parking lot and a convenience store.
The officer leaves the vehicle and appears to talk with the people in the truck cab.
“When we look at the timing of this, they were here four minutes — from dismissal of every preschool through fourth grade student that we serve in our school district,” Longworth says. “These are men that are carrying symbols of hatred to install fear in the hearts of those who we serve. And we take that very personally.”
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Longworth says he's not second-guessing the officer's decision to lead the U-Haul next to the school, but he does want to know exactly what happened.
“In the event that we knew that there was a dangerous situation on any of our campuses, specifically that day, we would have immediately locked down our campus. Protocols according to our safety plan would be followed immediately, and a phone call to 911 made,” Longworth says.
He says neo-Nazis are not welcome in the communities.
“A group that comes intentionally with symbols and messages of hate that make people feel unsafe or unwelcome in their homes are terrorists,” he says. “They are not protesters.”
He says he doesn't know what was said between the officer and the neo-Nazis, but he'd like to hear what happened.
Lockland resident Leah Cooper came to the Lockland Local Schools Board of Education meeting Thursday night to express concern about the incident. She said she has children who were attending school where the incident occurred.
"They should have chosen a different location," she said afterward. "The officer who assisted them should be held accountable for that, should have to answer to someone about that. We deserve an answer as to why they pulled into the school where our children get their education. It's unfortunate they did it right before school let out."
There have been other calls for investigations, including from State Representative Cecil Thomas, who wants the Ohio Attorney General to get involved, and Hamilton County commissioners, who say they want answers, too.
