CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati has contracted employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. following a pre-disciplinary hearing between the city manager's office and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge, who has been on paid administrative leave since October.
Jackson Lewis P.C. will, according to the contract, provide advice, counsel and assistance in connection with City Manager Sheryl Long's review of the investigative report into Theetge's leadership and "any resulting decisions regarding Teresa Theetge's employment status."
According to the contract, obtained by WCPO, the law firm will bill the city for hours worked, with a maximum compensation set at $50,000, including hourly fees and reimbursable expenses.
"No other compensation of any kind, including but not limited to fringe benefits or overheard, shall be paid by the City unless the City Solicitor authorizes otherwise in a confirming email or writing in advance," the contract says
On Friday, Theetge's attorney said city officials did not say much during her pre-disciplinary hearing at City Hall. Attorney Stephen Imm said they instead listened to Theetge as she responded to the allegations in the independent investigation done by Frost Brown Todd.
A report summary of the investigation, released in late March, said the firm determined Theetge had "not been an effective leader."
"She addressed each and every one of the allegations here today," Imm said. "I can tell you that there is nothing left of the allegations made against chief Theetge after what we heard today, we hope that the city will recognize that."
After the hearing, Theetge described the feelings and support she has received in the last several months.
"I can't go anywhere in this region without somebody stopping me and saying, 'I've been treated badly by the city,'" Theetge told reporters Friday afternoon in her first public comments since being placed on leave. "I've been in Butler County, Warren County, Hamilton County, Northern Kentucky. People stop me everywhere."
Imm told reporters on Friday he hoped the city would bring Theetge back to work.
“For the city to bring her back at this point, I think, will involve a certain amount of embarrassment for the city. I hope that doesn’t interfere with them doing the right thing at this point," Imm said.
Still, he said he realized the ball was in the city's hands. But he added that, if the city decided to remove Theetge, "you can imagine what we're going to be doing."
He also said a financial settlement would not fix the damage done to Theetge's career.
"There's no amount of money that would ever make it right. There's no amount of money that could ever restore the reputation that chief Theetge has lost as a result of this series of actions," Imm said.
Theetge said the process has been "not fun" these past few months, and that she misses her job.
“I miss the work. I miss the men and women of CPD immensely,” Theetge said. “We didn’t start this fight, but by God we’re going to finish it."
What did the investigation into Theetge say?
The nine-page report was the result of interviews with 32 witnesses on Theetge's leadership of the department. The firm determined that her "old school approach" led to a "siloing of departments where departments competed for talent, resources and information."
The report stated the majority of witnesses said she "could not return to the CPD and be effective." It also blamed her communication style for creating a "lack of transparency and distrust" in the department.
The report notes that while Theetge ran the administrative side of the department well, she struggled to work with city leaders, attempting to block City Hall from communicating with her command staff and found the department has "a strong culture" of retaliation and a perception of favoritism or nepotism.
Theetge's attorneys have called the decision to place her on leave and investigate her leadership "hasty and unlawful," claiming she was being used as a "political scapegoat and political pawn" ahead of the mayoral and city council election. Imm said at a news conference weeks ahead of the report's release that they expected it to be "a hatchet job."
Her family members called it biased, speculative, and intended to push her out of the job.
Theetge's brother, retired Cincinnati Police Captain Russ Neville, who served in multiple leadership roles over 35 years, said the report bears "no semblance whatsoever to what a true investigative report should look like."
