Four presenters spoke about qualified immunity and the ballot initiative to overturn qualified immunity during the weekly “Current Events” discussion group that had been held July 15, 2025 at the recently-opened Bob Crane Community Center in Upper Arlington.
Qualified immunity is a legal concept that protects government officials, for example, police officers and others, from civil liability for violating a person’s civil rights in most situations when they are acting in their professional capacity.
One speaker, Cynthia Brown, is the 2023 Free Press Libby Award winner for Community Activism. Cynthia’s passion to change the system has grown since her nephew Kareem Ali Nadir Jones was shot and killed by Columbus police in 2017. He was harassed for no good reason and ordered to get on the ground. He was then tragically shot in the face, neck, and in the back while on the ground by two white officers. Both are still with the Division.
She has been unwavering in her fight to change or end qualified immunity for law enforcement in the state of Ohio, which if successful, could remove the legal shield police have from being sued civilly by victims of excessive force. Her current efforts with her group the Ohio Coalition To End Qualified Immunity is to put a constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot.
In 2021, Cynthia Brown and several others began advancing an amendment to the Ohio Constitution, titled “Protecting Ohioans’ Constitutional Rights,” that would repeal immunity defenses for government actors sued for violations of constitutional or civil rights. Ten times so far, Ohio Attorney Dave Yost has disqualified signatures that had previously been collected which has required the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity to start collecting signatures again multiple times.
The panel discussion focused both on qualified immunity itself and also on the ballot initiative to overturn qualified immunity.
From left to right are the following.
• Brian McKean, sergeant, Upper Arlington Police Department
• Cynthia Brown, founder of the The Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity
• Matthew Farabaugh, a member of the The Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity
• Mark Brown, professor, Capital University Law School
Mark Brown spoke about the legal history of qualified immunity and added that there are two courses on that topic at the Capital University Law School.
Brian McKean spoke from the “police officer” perspective (and thanked the “Current Events” organizer for having invited him to join the panel) but had been unable to answer several of the specific questions from the audience because, as an “in uniform” police officer at that time, he is not allowed to appear to “take sides” on issues.
In response to a question, Mark Brown said that qualified immunity currently protects other professionals besides police officers, for example, school teachers, from legal action.
Below is a link to information about the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity.
https://oceqi.org/qualified-immunity
