Two weeks before she was fired, Police Chief Teresa Theetge told her side of the story in front of the city manager during a two-hour pre-disciplinary hearing.
City Manager Sheryl Long fired her on April 23. A day later, Theetge’s attorney released a tape of that pre-disciplinary hearing.
Among the big revelations from that tape was Theete’s accusation Mayor Aftab Pureval pressured City Manager Sheryl Long to fire her, an accusation Pureval has denied.
But Theetge revealed more about how she saw her job as chief and the demands placed upon her by city leaders. Theetge made a variety of claims against city leaders, nonprofit developer Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., better known as 3CDC, and city consultant Iris Roley.
The Enquirer has reviewed the two-hour tape. Here are four takeaways.
Theetge said ‘3CDC was asking for the world’
Theetge opposed a “summer safety” program in 2025 that she characterized as an unreasonable demand from 3CDC. Long, in her termination letter to Theetge, cited Theetge’s opposition to the summer safety plan as one of the reasons for her firing.
Theetge said she was called into a meeting with 3CDC President Steve Leeper, Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long to discuss a summer safety program. Theetge, in the recording, didn’t say when the meeting was. She said the plan, proposed by 3CDC, required 203 manhours of police to cover different areas of the urban core every day.
The plan was unreasonable and not sustainable with a short-staffed police department, Theetge said.
“In my opinion, 3CDC was asking for the world and in essence wanted to turn the Cincinnati Police Department into their own private security company,” Theetge said.
The Enquirer reached out to Leeper and two spokespeople with 3CDC. Aubrea Atkinson, spokeswoman for 3CDC, in a statement said: “The city is open to our input on matters relating to downtown public safety.”
“Over the years, we have shared recommendations based on our level of presence and engagement throughout the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine,” Atkinson said in the statement. “These are intended to be additive to the expertise of the brave men and women in uniform.”
Long, in her termination letter to Theetge, slammed the former police chief for not making any effort to implement the plan or make any suggested changes to it.
“During your pre-disciplinary hearing, you took no accountability for your actions – or inaction,” Long wrote. “Instead, you attacked the summer plan, city departments, city partners and me. You made misleading and untrue statements.”
Theetge said police were concerned about Iris Roley
Theetge, during the two-hour hearing, said she wanted the city to address police officers’ concerns about city consultant and civil rights leader Iris Roley.
“Where are you with an advocate, an Iris Roley, who thinks she can go around and do and say and interfere with the officers and never be held accountable?” Theetge said in the hearing while listing a variety of support for officers she sought from the city administration.
She said the city manager acknowledged her concern but did not take action.
Roley did not return a message seeking comment.
Roley, a city consultant and civil rights leader, has divided opinions among law enforcement and the public. The city has contracted with Roley to monitor the relationship between the police and community and the reforms from the 2001 Collaborative Agreement. Last summer, the Fraternal Order of Police urged the city to fire her, calling her an “agitator” after police bodycam videos showed her confronting officers about how they treat residents and encouraging residents to file complaints. Others, including City Councilman Scotty Johnson, a former Cincinnati Police officer, have said officers appreciate the work Roley has done.
Theetge said mayor didn’t address judges who release repeat offenders
Theetge said the mayor told her he would have conversations with judges who put repeat offenders on the street, which she said are “causing a huge amount of our crime.”
She said those conversations between Pureval and the judges never happened.
“What I was expecting him to do is at least make an effort to speak with some of the judges, especially on the examples that I gave him, specific judges, letting out specific repeat offenders, and just talk to them about the impact on our city, specifically our urban core,” Theetge said.
A message to the mayor wasn’t returned on April 27.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘3CDC was asking for the world.’ 3 takeaways from the Theetge tape
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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