Police chief candidates introduced at City Council

Each of the four finalists in the running to become Cincinnati's next police chief spoke at City Hall Tuesday.

The finalists - Larry Boone, Todd Chamberlain, Lisa Davis and Teresa Theetge - were given five minutes to address the public safety and governance committee. They were selected from a list of 13 applicants.

The Enquirer has previously reviewed the applications and records of each of the finalists. Read more about each finalist here.

On Tuesday, Committee chair councilman Scotty Johnson told his fellow members of Council that this presentation was not an interview.

Larry Boone, former police chief in Norfolk, Virginia, is the only Black finalist. He said he has a proven track record of working with the community.

"Every decision we make in this role has to center on the community ... We had more protests than any other city in Virginia," he said. "But no rioting, no looting. None of that."

Boone said he marched with Black Lives Matter in 2020 and said officers need to be held accountable. He said when he was growing up in public housing, there was no "Officer Friendly," but said that has changed as policing has involved.

Todd Chamberlain, the former police chief for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said he is completely committed to service as a police officer and loves working with the community.

He said he worked to reduce gun violence by working with the John Jay School of Criminal Justice and helped to bring Ceasefire to L.A. The program works to reduce gun violence by targeting specific violent offenders. He said he also worked to address the homeless by creating a collaborative team with social service agencies because law enforcement cannot tackle that issue by itself.

Chamberlain said he realizes that the major issues facing cities today require the police to work with the community and other organizations to solve them.

Assistant Chief Lisa Davis reminded people that she is a lifelong Cincinnati resident and has been on the Cincinnati police force since 1992, right after she left the Navy.

Davis said her niche is working with the community.

"I believe in community partnerships ... I believe in data-driven strategy," she said. "I believe in the Collaborative Agreement."

Interim chief Teresa Theetge has been with the police department for over 32 years. She said she has worked with every aspect of the police department at different ranks.

"There's a lot of work to do," Theetge said. "It will never stop. We should never stop trying to better ourselves.

She said she's worked to advance to the crime gun intelligence center to address violence, has fostered the officer wellness program to keep police mentally healthy and has worked hard on recruitment efforts. She acknowledged that officer morale could be hurting due to the staffing shortage departments across the country are seeing.

Tuesday night, the finalists will speak and take questions from the community at the first of two town hall meetings. Iris Roley, a long-time advocate with the Black United Front and an advisor in the city manager's office, said this is the first time the city has allowed the public to meet candidates for police chief in this way. She praised City Manager Sheryl Long and the council for making it happen.

Tuesday's meeting is at the Pleasant Ridge Recreation Center Gym, 5915 Ridge Ave. The second meeting will be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Westwood Town Hall Auditorium, 3017 Harrison Ave.

The city charter gives the power of hiring the police chief to the city manager. Long is expected to make her final decision sometime in December and the new leader of the department is slated to start Jan. 17.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Police chief candidates introduced at City Council