CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge spoke publicly for the first time Friday since the city placed her on paid administrative leave after having a chance to defend her leadership at a pre-disciplinary hearing.
That hearing took place before City Manager Sheryl Long, in what a city spokesperson described as "an ongoing personnel matter," and comes on the heels of the release of a nine-page report that claimed she has "not been an effective leader."
"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."
Theetge, who has been on paid administrative leave since October, received a copy of that report, prepared by Frost Brown Todd, at the end of March, along with notice of the hearing, city officials said.
After the hearing, Theetge described the feelings and support she has received in the last several months.
"I was in Florida. Somebody in Florida recognized me and said, 'What they're doing to you is horrible. Horrible,'" she said. "So that keeps me motivated, and my strong, strong family, 100% behind me."
Theetge's attorney, Stephen Imm, said city leaders really didn't say much during the hearing, instead listening to Theetge respond one by one to the allegations in the report.
"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."
WATCH: Cincinnati police chief speaks for the first time since being placed on administrative leave
Imm said he hopes the city will bring her 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.
Imm said the decision is now in the city’s hands, and noted there is no timeline for a decision from the city.
"The ball is in the city’s court at this point. They have to decide whether to allow Terri to come back or remove her. If they remove her, you can imagine what we’re going to be doing. And we’re going to fight that vigorously until we get justice for the chief," Imm said.
Imm added that 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 called the process "not fun."
“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."
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.”
"It's bare. It's weak. There's no supporting documentation. There's no fact. It's speculative, it's opinionated, it's perception-related, it's feeling-based," Neville said.
The city has not yet released a statement or their characterization of the hearing.
