CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge met with the mayor or the city manager at least 20 times in the three weeks after the notorious brawl downtown on July 26, occasionally meeting two or three times per day.
The WCPO 9 I-Team obtained public calendars of city leaders, which reveal the heavy involvement that Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long appeared to have in public safety and how Theetge performed her job.
"I like many, woke up Saturday morning to the video," Theetge said at her first press conference on July 28.
WATCH: Here's a breakdown of their calendars post-brawl
A day later, Theetge attended a meeting of the Downtown Residents Council and told an over-capacity crowd in a library room, "Let me be clear, crystal clear, that was a violent, violent encounter … it makes me sick watching it over and over again, on national news especially."
Long attended that July 29 meeting with Theetge and other police leaders. Pureval, who was on a family vacation, appeared virtually during that meeting, drawing groans from the crowd as residents announced, "he’s not here."
After Pureval cut short his vacation, some of the first things he did upon returning to work on Aug. 1 were to have phone calls with the Rev. Damon Lynch III at 10:30 a.m. and Fifth Third Bank CEO Tim Spence at noon, according to his calendar.
Lynch referred to another video showing a white man and a Black man preparing to fight on the street as another Black man tries to break the two up. At that time, the white man can be seen slapping a different Black man, which appears to begin the "attack."
Lynch specifically called out state and national leaders, including Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno and Vice President JD Vance, who he said are "racializing and politicizing" the event.
That night, and again on Aug. 2, Pureval joined Cincinnati police on walking patrols on Main Street and on Fountain Square, according to his calendar.
In the following days, Pureval attended a Cincinnati Public Schools Back to School Fest and a rec night basketball game at Ezzard Charles Park, according to his calendar.
Ramaswamy described it as a "candid" meeting with Pureval and Theetge but said he agreed to keep their discussions private.
In the following days, Pureval met with the heads of City Center Development Corp (3CDC), the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, and Visit Cincy. He attended National Night Out and back-to-school events across the city, and was a keynote speaker at a Procter & Gamble event, according to his calendar.
He and Theetge met with Sen. Bernie Moreno on Aug. 6, along with several council members and law enforcement officials.
"The meeting didn’t start well, but the important part is that it ended well. We have to get past that gate of 'we have to do better,' and then we have to get past that next gate, which is 'it doesn’t matter whose fault it is; it matters who is going to be involved in getting to a solution,'" Moreno said at an Aug. 6 press conference.
In the days that followed, Pureval attended numerous community events, including Flugtag, the Black Family Reunion, where he judged the poundcake contest, Cincinnati SneakerBall and the Queen City Slam, according to his calendar.
Pureval also met regularly with Long and Theetge and had one-on-one meetings with some council members and others in the administration.
Dozens of people filled pews at New Prospect Baptist Church to listen as local leaders spoke about the videos, the brawl and law enforcement's response in the weeks that have followed.
Local leaders also took the lead to address the crowd, including council member Scotty Johnson, Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Lynch.
"So, what incited and who incited the riot?" said Lynch. "If the riot is because of the slap, who incited the riot? And how are the only people charged — I'll say it again — the ones who look like me?"
Pureval was a guest on the Lincoln Ware radio show on Aug. 12, discussing the fallout from the brawl.
On Aug. 13, Pureval had lunch with Pastor K.Z. Smith of Corinthian Baptist Church at Court Street Kitchen, according to his calendar.
He then held a press conference in his office on Aug. 13 to announce crime-fighting efforts. He later attended a Reds game with the Ohio Mayors Alliance, which had its annual regional meeting in Cincinnati on Aug. 14, according to his calendar.
On Aug. 18, Pureval attended a Cincinnati Regional Business Committee board meeting and met separately with Kearney and Theetge, according to his calendar.
On Aug. 19, Pureval had a 10 a.m. meeting with the city manager and the solicitor, according to his calendar.
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.
"We think he was undercharged and the African Americans were overcharged," said Lynch, one of the faith leaders who spoke at Fountain Square.
On Aug. 21, Pureval met with Eric Fehr, president of Richter & Phillips jewelry store downtown, and later with Bob Deck of 4EG, which owns bars downtown such as Igby’s and The Righteous Room, and Britney Ruby Miller, president and CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment. That meeting was listed on Pureval’s calendar as the first of the bi-monthly meetings with Deck and Miller.
“Meeting with him, and we do not always see eye to eye, he will tell you that, but at least he listens,” Miller said during an Oct. 15 interview, describing her meetings with Pureval.
Meanwhile, Theetge’s calendar during that time was filled with frequent public safety discussions and meetings, both virtual and in-person, with the mayor or city manager, which sometimes occurred two or three times per day.
On Aug. 15 at 11 a.m. Theetge attended a safety briefing at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, according to her calendar.
On Aug. 15 at 12:03, Long sent Theetge an email, which was obtained by WCPO, "I must admit I was caught off guard at your announcement of a police chief's task force at a recent press conference,” and told her that all communications, external meetings, and announcements must be reviewed by her beforehand."
During that time period, Pureval’s calendar had many time slots that were blocked off without details or marked as personal.
As for Theetge, the only meeting marked HOLD on her calendar during the period from Aug. 1 to Aug. 22 occurred on Aug. 6, with no details provided.
Theetge was officially placed on administrative leave on Oct. 20.
