City fires top cop over morale, management, selfies

Cincinnati's city manager didn't just fire Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell on Wednesday.

He buried him.

Armed with two blistering reports on the department's morale and the chief's leadership, City Manager Harry Black portrayed the chief as a poor manager who belittled his staff and broke department rules. He said Blackwell badgered underlings for free tickets to sporting events, improperly approved overtime for his favorite officers and treated other staff members so badly they sought psychological counseling.

Through it all, Black said, the chief tried to burnish his own image at the expense of his officers and his department, most notably when officers accused him this summer of stopping to take selfies with passersby during the funeral procession of fallen officer Sonny Kim.

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"Morale is at an unprecedented low level," Black wrote in his memo to City Council explaining why he fired the chief. "The general sentiment throughout the department is that Mr. Blackwell's leadership style has created a work environment of hostility and retaliation."

The city administration's depiction of the chief was as stunning as it was brutal, and it was a testament to how much the relationship between Blackwell and City Hall had deteriorated in recent months.

The pairing never worked well, in part because Blackwell was hired two years ago by the outgoing administration months before Black and Mayor John Cranley took over. Still, the two sides talked often about trying to make the best of the relationship.

Those efforts failed, however, and an increase in violent crime this summer, coupled with a shaky plan to address the problem, made matters worse.

By late last week, the machinery was in motion to fire the chief. The city's human resources department began pulling together complaints, some of them filed just days ago, that described Blackwell as "demeaning" and the department as "dysfunctional." Black said the final straw was a series of complaints about the way the chief treated members of his staff, some of whom had requested counseling to cope with the stressful work environment.

"There was disarray. There were communication issues, morale issues," Black said. "This was an extraordinary situation."

Blackwell isn't going quietly. He caused a stir Wednesday when he showed up for City Council's meeting shortly before his successor, interim chief Eliot Isaac, was scheduled to be introduced to Council.

He said his lawyer would soon address the allegations against him, possibly in a lawsuit against the city. When asked about the reports that excoriated him, Blackwell said he hadn't read them and complained that Black and Cranley never fully supported him.

"I love the people of Cincinnati," he said.

Blackwell still has supporters in the community and on City Council who have praised his commitment to community-oriented policing and his willingness to reach out to neighborhood leaders. Some of those supporters spoke up for him Wednesday, saying that while the accusations against Blackwell are serious, the firing process was heavy-handed and unfair.

"Instead of being at fancy dinners and ribbon cuttings, he was in our community getting to know us," Councilman Chris Seelbach said of the chief. "That is something we should applaud and be standing by."

Even Blackwell's supporters, however, had begun to waver in recent weeks. Councilman Wendell Young said last week the chief had become a distraction and should step down, and a prominent police officer who had previously backed Blackwell said he'd had a change of heart after watching a decline in working conditions at the department.

"I have never witnessed such hostility and lack of respect for employees," Officer Scotty Johnson wrote last week in an email to the human resources department. "These conditions have directly contributed to the low morale and displeasure pervasively haunting the Cincinnati Police Department."

Johnson is past president of the Sentinels, an organization for black police officers, and had defended Blackwell as recently as a few months ago. "I was a staunch supporter. I wanted to see his tenure be successful," Johnson told Council Wednesday. "It's painful to sit here and talk about this. I believe my colleagues, the people I worked with for years, deserved better."

According to the reports released Wednesday, others in the 1,000-member police force soured on Blackwell much earlier. The reports, which include a climate assessment of morale, found that 82 percent of the 485 officers surveyed said communication with leadership was ineffective and 77 percent said police operations didn't reflect the department's priorities.

On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest, the officers rated employee morale at 2.29.

"This report is devastating," Vice Mayor David Mann said.

Black's memo to council and the testimonials from top officers got more specific, outlining complaints about Blackwell's management style, his handling of overtime and his personality.

Assistant Chief Dave Bailey, a 28-year veteran who disagreed often with Blackwell, said the chief created a small group of loyalists who advised him outside the traditional chain of command. He said members of the group, which some referred to as "the real command staff," were the beneficiaries of unlimited overtime.

"Officers in the field soon became resentful about what was perceived to them as the unfettered squandering of overtime by the police chief's staff, while their overtime is constantly scrutinized and limited by department supervisors," Bailey wrote in his complaint. "I have never seen this department in such a state of hopelessness."

The Enquirer reported last month that overtime spending is up 42 percent this year, to $3.7 million, compared to the same period in 2013 under former Chief James Craig. Overtime spending for the chief's staff is two-and-a-half times higher now than in 2013.

Bailey also described Blackwell as a publicity hound who delayed meetings until the chief's entourage got in position for photographs. He said the chief offended many officers during Kim's funeral procession when he and his guests took selfies and leaned out his car window to wave, "as if they were part of a parade." That accusation wasn't witnessed by reporters during the procession and, when asked about it, Black said several officers told him about it.

Two high-ranking officers, Capt. Michael John and Capt. Paul Neudigate, said they saw the chief berate Bailey about a seating preference during a meeting. After telling Bailey to sit, they said, Blackwell told Bailey, "That's a (expletive) order."

Isaac, Blackwell's replacement, said some big decisions were handled haphazardly by the chief, including the reassignment of officers to deal with the uptick in violence this summer.

"Many have expressed that the work environment is worse than the aftermath of the 2001 civil unrest," Isaac wrote, referring to the events following the police shooting of an unarmed man that year.

Capt. Paul Broxterman, who leads the department's professional standards section, said he knew the chief to be a good man, but he believed there were times his conduct was unprofessional. He said some of those times came in 2013 and 2014 when Broxterman was commanding the officers who investigate downtown crime.

On several occasions, Broxterman said, Blackwell asked him to use his connections to the city's sports teams to get him tickets for upcoming games. "Although I was uncomfortable in doing this, on two or three occasions, I was able to get him tickets at no cost," Broxterman wrote. "As the chief made repeated requests, I became increasingly uncomfortable in reaching out to my contacts."

One of the most serious accusations in the testimonials is that Blackwell interfered with audits and internal investigations.

Bailey said the internal investigations section was reassigned to report directly to the chief after Blackwell expressed disappointment about an investigation into an officer. He said Blackwell also ordered the inspections unit to halt an overtime audit of the department's quality-of-life team.

"It is my opinion Chief Blackwell took control of these functions to have the ability to personally manipulate investigations and audits," Bailey wrote.

When asked if any of the accusations against Blackwell will be referred to prosecutors for possible criminal investigation, both Cranley and Black said no. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said he is reviewing the reports.

Cranley and Black said their focus now is on fixing what's wrong in the department, and giving Isaac the support he needs to do the job.

"This is a critical moment for our city," Cranley said.

Fraternal Order of Police President Kathy Harrell has been saying for months that officers are unhappy. She had called a meeting for next week where it was expected officers were going to take a vote of no confidence in Blackwell.

"None of this comes as a surprise," Harrell said. "Today the officers know they were listened to."

Isaac, who can apply for the top job while acting as interim chief, said he'll address the concerns raised by his colleagues for as long as he's in the job.

"The Cincinnati Police Department will not go backwards during my time as interim chief," Isaac said. "We are going to fix those concerns."

Poll: Did the city make the right decision?

Timeline: A tumultuous year

Memo from City Manager Harry Black announcing the firing: