Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, asking him to send the National Guard to Price Hill, saying armed soldiers on street corners is the best way to stop the recent surge in shootings.

DeWine took the call seriously and immediately called Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, who waived the idea off as not needed, which he said DeWine understood.

"That is definitely not what we want to do," Isaac said. "We don’t want to militarize our community. We’re concerned about the loss of life. This is a challenge every city in the Midwest is going through. We’re going to continue to work hard."

Deters comments came Tuesday. He told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast that last week he was "a heartbeat away from calling the governor and saying, 'Put the National Guard in Price Hill."

He cited statistics of 20 homicides in 45 days. Crime, on the whole, is down and even shootings – non-fatal and fatal – are on pace with last year. But June was the deadliest since 2000.

By the end of year, 2018 marked the lowest number of shootings in the city in a more than a decade.

Deters was in Washington D.C. during President Donald Trump's inauguration, where he said he saw three soldiers on every street corner.

"When you can't have your little kid go out in your yard and play out of fear of a stray gunshot, that is bullshit," Deters said. "Why not put them out on street corners and say, OK, they have their body armor on, they got their helmets on, they got their automatic weapons. You want to do this stuff?"

His comments came during a discussion about former Hamilton County Judge Tracie Hunter, who was jailed for six months Monday on a felony charge of interfering with a government contract. Her sentence stirred ire, prompting protests and politicians to publicly decry the punishment.

Deters said Hunter doesn't belong in jail, but it's the violence that is "the civil rights issue of our time."

He added that he may still call DeWine. After leaving The Enquirer he did just that, he said. He said he called DeWine at roughly 4:30 p.m. and asked him to send soldiers to the city.

Isaac has deployed extra officers and Cincinnati City Council is discussing several measures to help, including adding full-time officers to get the department to full strength, keeping recreation centers open late and adding lighting to high crime areas.

Money hasn't yet been allocated for the measures. Isaac said DeWine expressed concern and that he asked the governor for money to help with hiring. They ended the call with no firm commitment.

"I know Eliot is doing his best... but I am telling you right now, they don't have the budget, the manpower to handle it," he said. "If I was the governor, I would put the National Guard on the streets of Price Hill right now. I would not put up with this any more."

The Enquirer has reached out to the governor's office.

Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach was appalled at the idea of calling in the National Guard.

"This sounds like the beginning of the Handmaid's Tale," Seelbach said. "Crime is down. And yet, he's talking about putting armed guards in a neighborhood."

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