CINCINNATI — Mayor Aftab Pureval said he was disappointed to hear of the Cincinnati FOP's unanimous "no confidence" vote in him.
The Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) unanimously voted "no confidence" in Pureval at a meeting Monday night, the FOP announced.
According to the FOP, the group's unanimous vote comes due to "a series of leadership failures over the past month that have undermined public safety, police operations and community trust."
The FOP further said the vote reflects concerns among FOP members about Pureval's "inability to address critical issues" facing both Cincinnati and law enforcement officers.
"This unanimous vote of no confidence is a clear message from our members that Mayor Pureval's leadership has fallen short in supporting the men and women who protect this city every day," said Cincinnati FOP President Ken Kober. "From political interference in law enforcement to neglecting the well-being of officers and the community, these failures demand accountability and change."
The FOP said they discussed several grievances regarding Pureval, including:
- Pureval's inability to address situations quickly, which the FOP said was "demonstrated by his three-day delay in commenting on the Elm Street riot, leaving officers and the community in limbo."
- FOP members' lack of faith in Pureval's ability to "fix pressing issues or lead the city effectively moving forward"
Why did FOP members vote 'no confidence'?
We caught up with Kober on Tuesday to ask about the vote.
"In my 25-year career, I've never seen the FOP have a vote of no confidence against the mayor," Kober said.
Kober said FOP members feel Pureval took too long to respond to the late-July downtown brawl that has led to the arrest of eight people.
"We went three days without the mayor having said anything; you could feel the tension rising in Cincinnati," Kober said
The FOP also claimed that Pureval had a role in pressuring the city solicitor to charge a man, also identified as a victim in the violent July fight in downtown Cincinnati, with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. The city solicitor did this to "solely appease racial tensions at the urging of a few community leaders," the FOP said.
Kober previously called the charges against the man, who is white, into question. The man is the eighth person charged in connection with the fight. The seven people previously charged were Black, something Black community leaders took issue with — calling for police to charge a white man they believed to have incited the fight.
"There's no place for politics in policing," Kober said.
Kober previously said Cincinnati's administration is "eroding the very fabric of the justice system with orders to prosecute those without probable cause."
The FOP also said their decision was made based on Pureval's "failure to condemn or largely even comment" on their claims against city consultant Iris Roley, even in private with the FOP.
Earlier this month, Cincinnati officials said they were reviewing allegations from the FOP that Roley is harassing several on-duty police officers.
In an online petition, the FOP is calling for Roley to be fired, alleging that she "has been caught on body cam multiple times harassing police officers for doing their jobs."
"While (Pureval) claims he disagrees with her behavior, he refuses to acknowledge that an individual on a lucrative city contract — likely exceeding six figures — should be accountable to anyone," the FOP said.
Mayor Pureval's response to the vote by FOP members
In a statement shared with us, Pureval said he doesn't believe the FOP's vote "reflects the work we've done in collaboration with our officers."
"We've had the backs of law enforcement, without fail, every step of the way since taking office," he said.
Pureval referenced several ways his administration has worked toward helping police.
"We've increased police funding to address staffing challenges faced by cities across the nation, we've supported requests for new lateral classes and additional resources, and I have further funding increases in the pipeline as we speak," Pureval said. "I have been proud to stand with our officers at every turn as they make sacrifices to protect residents."
"All of us have a common goal: the health and safety of those we serve," Pureval continued. "This is a time to work together and continue improving safety in our city. We will not be letting up on that work, and we will not be letting up on our investments in law enforcement to make Cincinnati as safe as possible."
Pureval ended his statement by saying he looks forward to "continuing to support all of our officers."
Kober said that FOP members don't feel Pureval has truly been supportive of officers.
"We're 150 cops short, so I think it's kind of misrepresented to say that I've done all of these things when this is the expectation," Kober said.
How does this impact the upcoming election?
We wanted to know how this decision could impact the upcoming mayoral race, so we took our questions to University of Cincinnati Political Science Professor David Niven.
"This has no tangible consequence, but it's symbolically important," Niven said.
Niven said, while the decision is rare, it's not entirely surprising.
"This is not a group that's been supportive of the mayor," Niven said.
Niven said he doesn't feel this decision will impact Pureval's chances in the upcoming election. Pureval will face newcomer Cory Bowman in the race for Cincinnati mayor this November.
Bowman is the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance.
“In a more competitive election, this could matter, but he’s running against an opponent that’s really well outside the mainstream of Cincinnati politics,” Niven said.
He said, however, there could be implications for the races for city council seats.
Other notable decisions made by the FOP
The FOP also chose not to endorse current Cincinnati City Council member Scotty Johnson, who is an active FOP member.
Kober said members were upset about apparent comments Johnson made about investigators on the case of the viral downtown brawl.
Kober did not clarify exactly what those comments were.
"They thought that it just wasn't appropriate to have one FOP member criticizing another FOP member," Kober said.
We reached out to Johnson's office to ask him about the decision, but we haven't heard back.
