An attorney representing the family involved in the now-viral Montgomery Inn parking lot incident is speaking out.
Konrad Kircher, of Maineville-based Kircher Law, addressed reporters on Monday on behalf of the Morrow family. His clients allege that members of the Raleigh family assaulted elderly members of the Morrow family after a vehicle crash on June 22. Stacie Morrow-Stickrod posted about the incident on Facebook on July 10, saying her elderly mother suffered serious injuries in the alleged attack.
The over-3-minute video posted by Morrow-Stickrod, which launched this story into the national spotlight, depicts a chaotic scene involving WCPO's chief meteorologist Steve Raleigh. The shaky, often blurry video shows an argument between several individuals, resulting in frantic camera shots of men pushing each other. As the person filming regains balance, Morrow-Stickrod’s mother and father are both seen lying on the pavement, with blood visible next to her mother’s head.
In addition to a fractured skull, Kircher told CityBeat that 76-year-old Lois Morrow's injuries are also psychological.
“She doesn’t want to leave the house, she’s frightened. Has a lot of nightmares and fears,” he said. “We want the Raleigh family to come forward and tell the truth about what happened.”
Kircher told CityBeat the Morrow family is not pursuing a lawsuit at this time as a Cincinnati Police Department's investigation into the incident is ongoing, but he emphasized that this entire situation could have been avoided had members of the Raleigh family cooperated from the start.
“Steve Raleigh should have allowed the police to come and take a report,” he said. “He insisted that the police not be called. He got agitated when he learned police were coming and then that incited [his son] to resort to violence.”
According to her post, Morrow-Stickrod’s father elected to call the police because “he suspected [the suspects] had been drinking.” The CPD incident report said the offender was suspected of using drugs or alcohol.
Raleigh has not spoken publicly about the incident and has taken down all his social media accounts. His lawyer has not responded to CityBeat’s requests for comment.
Jeff Brogan, WCPO vice president and general manager, released the following statement on July 12: "We are aware of the incident involving Steve Raleigh’s family. It is still under investigation, and at this time no charges have been filed against anyone. Steve shared his side of the incident with our leadership. His account is consistent with the police report, which does not name him, and with what we have reviewed on video. The video does not show the incident from start to finish. We will continue to monitor official findings."
Kircher said the Morrows are looking for accountability and an apology.
Photo: Lydia Schembre
Lois Morrow, 76, (left); Douglas Morrow, 79, (middle); Stacie Morrow-Stickrod (right).
“We want them to accept responsibility for the harm they caused,” he said. “We want a sincere apology for how this all unfolded.”
Calls for Raleigh to resign have popped up on social media as the legacy weatherman has been absent from the air following attention from Morrow-Stickrod’s post. Kircher said his clients have “no opinion” on his standing at WCPO.
“Whether he loses his job at WCPO, we have no opinion on that,” he told CityBeat. “That’s between him and his employer.”
