What Is Going on in Cincinnati?

Intense fallout from violence in Cincinnati over a baseball game has thrust the Queen City once more into the national spotlight.

On Opening Day late last month, chaos erupted in the streets after the Cincinnati Reds lost 3-0 to the Boston Red Sox.

Seventeen people were arrested amid the chaos, ranging in ages from 14 to 50 years old, with charges including disorderly conduct, possession of weapons while intoxicated, failure to comply, assault, and resisting arrest. Parts of downtown and even entrances into nearby Kentucky were closed, according to WLWT.

Cory Bowman, who ran for mayor as a Republican last year, told The Daily Signal that such “events highlight that we are in a very difficult moment as a city,” adding that “the collective and courageous efforts of state and local law enforcement that night truly prevented even worse outcomes.”

Mehek Cooke, now with The Daily Signal, took to X to voice her complaints, including with local leaders.

One of those leaders is Democrat Mayor Aftab Pureval, who released a statement over X calling the behavior “an outrage” while thanking the city police department “for your quick and effective work.”

It wasn’t enough for Bowman, who has criticized the mayor in the past, including after a violent and viral attack last summer.

Bowman criticized how the mayor was on vacation for Opening Day, “one of the busiest weekends of the year, when the eyes of the country were on us.”

“However, he returned days later to raise a flag on the steps of City Hall for political positioning, while also making public comments on national issues like birthright citizenship. Cincinnatians need clean streets, safe streets, and prosperous streets. They don’t need politicians who treat City Hall as a stepping stone to higher office,” Bowman added.

A damning report from the city regarding Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge has also dominated the news cycle in Cincinnati.

The report was conducted by FBT Gibbons LLP at the request of the city to see if Theetge—who has been on paid administrative leave since last October—“has been an effective leader and manager of the Cincinnati Police Department.” Thirty-two witnesses, as well as Theetge herself, were interviewed.

As the conclusion for the report summarized in part:

“Chief Theetge has not been an effective leader of the CPD. Modern policing requires cross-departmental collaboration, adapting to changing expectations in communities and with employees, and eliminating single points of failure. Chief Theetge’s ‘old school’ (i.e. rigid and authoritarian) approach led directly to a siloing of departments where departments competed for talent, resources, and information – to the detriment of the CPD and the City. Chief Theetge’s continued assertion that she is one of the best Police Chiefs the City has ever had, even in the face of contradictory information and critical feedback, denotes a lack of ability to receive and implement feedback. The majority of all witnesses interviewed indicated that Chief Theetge could not return to the CPD and be effective, and that assessment is supported by the investigation.”

Theetge’s attorney, Stephen Imm of the Finney Law Firm, has lambasted the report as “a shameful collection of outright falsehoods about an honorable public servant.” He also claimed that “the City Manager and Mayor know very well that these statements are false, but have chosen to issue them anyway to try and distract attention from their own failures and misjudgments.”

“Chief Theetge looks forward to successfully defending herself against these outrageous allegations. In due course they will be exposed, without exception, as entirely false. There is not a shred of credible evidence to support the City’s actions against her,” Imm added.

Problems regarding priorities for city leaders, including crime overall as well as Opening Day and the Theetge report, remain a top concern for Queen City Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober.

“While Cincinnati’s leaders pay $50,000 for an investigation that intentionally excluded many of the positive things witnesses shared, crime is surging. The unrest of opening day is a perfect example why the city needs to give the men and women of the Cincinnati Police Department support and resources—and that includes a police chief. We want to keep the people of Cincinnati safe, but we need city leadership to stop spending taxpayer money to support their agenda rather than backing law enforcement,” Kober said in a statement for The Daily Signal.

Bowman also focused on the high cost of the investigation to taxpayers as well as the treatment of the chief, mentioning that it “produced no factual findings or evidence to justify the treatment Chief Theresa Theetge has received from the city” and “further suggests that the chief was used as a political scapegoat to cover for the incompetence of City Hall, starting with the mayor and the city manager’s office.”

He warned of further consequences as well. “The mishandling of this situation by the current administration will most likely add to a growing list of existing and potential lawsuits, forcing the city to pay out more settlements—further straining an already struggling budget.” Bowman added.

Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long focused on the ongoing nature of the matter. “The City is committed to a fair, thorough, and legally sound process,” Long said in a statement. “This report is the result of an independent investigation conducted by outside counsel and has been shared with Chief Theetge. This remains an ongoing personnel matter and it’s important to allow the process to proceed in the time required to protect the integrity of the review. I will not comment further until a decision is made,” she said.

The Daily Signal reached out to the mayor’s office and the city manager about the report and the mayhem on Opening Day but did not hear back.

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