CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge has been placed on paid administrative leave "pending an internal investigation into the effectiveness of her leadership," the city announced.
"The City continues to face serious public safety challenges that underscore the need for stability at the command level. Therefore, I’ve named Assistant Chief Adam Hennie as Interim Police Chief," City Manager Sheryl Long said in a statement. "Our focus remains on maintaining stability within the department and ensuring the highest standards of service to our residents. I have full confidence in Interim Chief Hennie and the department’s command staff to continue their dedicated work at this time."
The news comes less than an hour after Finney Law Firm, which represents Theetge, announced a press conference regarding her employment with the city scheduled for Tuesday morning.
"I fully support City Manager Long's decision," Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a statement Monday night. "I'm confident that the Interim Chief, our entire police force and our administration will continue to put the safety of our residents above everything else."
Rumors about Theetge's status with the department began spreading after a shooting on Fountain Square last week.
Theetge first became interim police chief in February 2022 when former chief Eliot Isaac retired from the department. After a months-long search for Isaac's replacement, Theetge was announced as the first woman to lead the Cincinnati Police Department in December 2022.
The West Sider was the highest-ranking female official in CPD history before becoming chief, serving as executive assistant police chief from 2020 to 2022 after decades with the department.
When she became chief, Theetge spoke at length about addressing ongoing gun violence, as well as officer wellness and recruiting. Those three items continued to be top issues in Cincinnati during her tenure.
Most recently, the city accepted help from Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio State Highway Patrol after a reported increase in crime this summer.
While police data showed that shootings are down within city limits, data from the summer also showed that crime reports in downtown Cincinnati were on the rise. That includes home burglaries, hundreds of vehicle break-ins and a violent August fight that garnered national attention.
The city announced a safety plan to address these issues, which included implementing a curfew, adding more CPD patrols and utilizing volunteers and violence interrupters. Yet, Mayor Aftab Pureval noted after a downtown shooting in October that "the violence persists."
"We need to make (downtown) a safer place for businesses. For people to patronize those businesses. For the people who live in this city," Theetge said after the shooting at Fountain Square in October.
Additionally, CPD remains around 100 officers short of its full complement of 1,059 officers. This summer, we spoke with Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober, who said officers are stretched too thin — even without the additional patrols added in the city's safety plan.
In September, Cincinnati City Council approved spending an additional $5.4 million this year on public safety efforts that include police staffing and training.
FOP President Ken Kober told us replacing the chief "is not the answer" to violence.
"There are three options: Repeal Issue 5 so the Police Chief isn’t under the thumb of an elected official, convince the mayor to allow the Chief to do her job independently or residents vote for a new mayor. Otherwise we will remain at status quo with violence in this city," said Kober.
