Cincinnati police captain under investigation after allegations of 'derogatory comments'

Cincinnati Police Department Capt. Danita Pettis is under investigation by the city following allegations that she used derogatory comments toward another officer, according to public records released Wednesday.

District 5 officer Toni Nash contacted the the department's Internal Investigations Section regarding a third-party audio recording of a phone conversation and said Pettis is one of the parties heard talking, according to an internal correspondence dated June 5.

Nash said that in the recording, Pettis "makes derogatory comments and threatens workplace hostility" toward the officer, the document says.

The department released an audio recording of a phone conversation in which a woman repeatedly curses and makes references to an officer trading sex with male superiors for favorable treatment at work.

"You've been f---ing white men since you came on the department," the woman says.

It's unclear if the woman in the recording is Pettis. The version of the call provided to The Enquirer, in response to a public records request, appears edited and only contains one side of the conversation.

A city spokesperson confirmed a human resources investigation into Pettis is ongoing.

"I am committed to addressing the culture within our city departments and ensuring every employee feels safe and welcome at work," Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long said in a statement.

Police union plans to support Pettis during investigation

Dan Hils, president of Cincinnati's police union, represents union members during potential disciplinary situations.

He said that he was aware of the recording and plans to support Pettis as the investigation progresses.

"It sounds like a wire tap," Hils said. "And it was released at a very suspicious time."

Hils said Pettis is in the running for an assistant chief position and wonders if this is an attempt to influence the outcome of who gets that job.

He said he has no idea about the recording's age, the context of the conversation or the identity of the other person in the conversation.

"I don't even know if she was on duty," Hils said. "This seems like an attempted hit."

Pettis did not immediately respond to a phone call and text message from The Enquirer seeking comment.

Pettis joined Cincinnati Police Department in 1999

She currently serves as the commander of District 2, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Evanston, East Walnut Hills, O'Bryonville, Hyde Park, Mount Lookout, Oakley, Madisonville, Kennedy Heights, Pleasant Ridge, East End, Columbia Tusculum, Linwood, Mount Washington and California.

Pettis grew up in Avondale and Winton Hills, one of the poorest of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods. She graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 1988 and spent some years in market research before becoming a 911 operator at the Emergency Communications Center.

She was accepted as a recruit for the Cincinnati Police Department in 1999. In 2019, Pettis was promoted to captain and has since worked in the planning department and on the gun crimes task force.

Early last year, she was sworn in as the 12th president of the Sentinel Police Association, often called Cincinnati's Black police union.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: CPD captain Danita Pettis under investigation after officer complaint