GRATIS, Ohio — Days after a small-town police chief visited Cincinnati Public Schools claiming to conduct “wellness checks” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, residents in the community told us they’re frustrated, embarrassed and still waiting for answers.
We traveled to the Village of Gratis, a small community south of Dayton in Preble County, on Friday to try to speak directly with Chief Tonina Lamanna. But calls, texts and knocks on the door of the police department went unanswered.
Around town, people were far from silent.
We asked Gratis native Joe Hensley for his message to the chief.
“See ya. Be gone," Hensely responded. "Don’t come back to Gratis. Go back to Dayton where you belong.”
WATCH: Gratis community reacts to police chief's visit to Cincinnati Public Schools
Lamanna was fired from the Dayton Police Department in 2017 in relation to a disciplinary issue that occurred after she filed a civil lawsuit against the city for gender discrimination. Lamanna was the first female ever in the patrol operations division of the department's K-9 Unit, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Donna Waller, who has lived in Gratis for years, said she was surprised to learn that Lamanna had been in Cincinnati schools.
"I was shocked, because the first thing on my mind is, 'What in the heck is a Gratis cop doing down in Cincinnati?'" Waller said. “She’s not a federal agent. And who gave her those orders? Did council approve that? Because honestly, that cruiser shouldn’t be out of Gratis without permission from the council.”
Cincinnati Public Schools released surveillance photos showing Lamanna inside Western Hills University High School Wednesday, accompanied by another officer. The officers, according to CPS, requested to conduct “wellness checks” on certain students without presenting warrants or any official paperwork.
The visits — also to Rees E. Price Elementary and Roberts Academy — alarmed CPS Superintendent Shauna Murphy, who called them “a threat” and praised school staff for refusing entry and following protocol that requires parental authorization before a student can be removed from class. Murphy said the officers were asked to leave and later contacted directly by CPS legal counsel, who directed them to route any future inquiries through his office.
Waller said she worries the chief’s trip to Cincinnati is diverting attention from problems in her own community, which she feels aren’t being dealt with quickly enough.
“Every time we make the news, it’s always for something negative," Waller said. "And unfortunately, this has gone way out of the normal.”
Gratis Mayor Kevin Johnson has called a special meeting to discuss Lamanna’s actions. It will be held Sunday at 4:00 p.m., with the agenda listing an executive session for “possible discipline of police personnel.”
The announcement on the village website states there will be no public participation at the meeting.
“I want to take things step by step. I want to make sure we’re following the law, but at this point we have no comment," Johnson said Friday. "We’re going to take this one step at a time.”
An ICE spokesperson told us Lamanna is a law enforcement partner who "attempted to verify school enrollment and conduct welfare checks on children who arrived unaccompanied across the border."
The statement went on to say that Lamanna was not an ICE officer and the visits were not "an enforcement action."
The Gratis Police Department entered into what's known as a 287(g) agreement in November 2025. The program operates through a formal, written Memorandum of Agreement between ICE and local law enforcement agencies. It authorizes state and local officers to perform designated immigration enforcement functions, including interviewing and detaining individuals in local jails on behalf of ICE.
The contract operates under the Task Force Model, which serves as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties within their own jurisdiction.
“It did not surprise me a bit," Hensley said. "(Lamanna) does this — she thinks she can get by with anything."
