Police chief faces union no-confidence vote

Police union President Kathy Harrell is convening a special meeting where members can address issues of low morale, staffing levels and concerns.

Officers told The Enquirer a vote of no confidence in Chief Jeffrey Blackwell is expected.

Harrell said she has been told that is the intent, but nobody knows exactly what will happen until the Sept. 14 meeting, when any member is welcome at the microphone.

In response to hearing reports about the vote, Blackwell called a press conference Wednesday night and said a vote of no confidence in the police world is not uncommon.

"I have worked diligently for two years to uplift this city and uplift the people of this city," Blackwell said at the press conference. "My decisions have been made with the best interest of this entire department. I want to help this city improve, and I think I've done that.

"As I stand before you today, I stand before you energized and confident that I will remain the chief of this great agency and continue to do the work we've done in Cincinnati for the people of Cincinnati."

Blackwell went on to say he was unclear about what Harrell was referring to in regard to staffing, which is at a six-year high, he said.

As for his relationship with Farrell, Blackwell said he thought it was something that produced results for the union.

"She's come to my office two or three dozen times in my tenure as chief, and every time she's left with the solution that she wanted for the FOP and the officer that she was bringing into my office," he said. "One hundred percent of the time that has happened."

Every member of the department belongs to the union, except the chief.

There hasn’t been a special meeting called since 2005. There has never been a vote of no confidence taken in a chief.

Councilman Christopher Smitherman, head of City Council’s Law and Public Safety Committee, said he is “aware officers are unhappy.” He said he has heard morale is low and has been for months.

“Communication from the top has been very concerning,” Smitherman said.

Blackwell referenced the issue of morale briefly during the press conference.

"Things are never perfect," Blackwell said. "I understand that we are tired. It's been a long summer. We've worked long hours and we've kept this city safe."

In June, The Sentinels, a group of black Cincinnati police officers, unanimously issued a vote of confidence in the chief .

“He’s here to stay,” said Phill Black, president of the Sentinels at the time. Black said Wednesday he is aware of the Sept. 14 meeting, but not its intent.

The vote comes after months of issues – a botched anti-crime plan, so much travel he’s earned the nickname “ghost” and accusations of low morale in the officer ranks. A climate assessment of the department was completed in recent days, but has not been released to the public.

Blackwell has been on the job two years.

"This is not in any way, shape or form about black and white," Blackwell said Wednesday night. "This is about wrong or right. It's about fairness, because a true leader has the confidence to stand alone, but he also has the compassion to listen to the needs of others."

His tenure started off rocky. In 2013, former City Manager Milton Dohoney hired Blackwell, despite a request from then mayoral candidate and current Mayor John Cranley that Dohoney hold off on the decision.

In his time here, Blackwell has been hailed nationally for upholding the ideals from a collaborative agreement reached among the city and other groups in the wake of the 2001 riots.

Earlier this year, the first new police recruit class in six years did a week of service, he created a quality of life department and assigned an officer to do outreach to the LGBT community. His H3Cincy basketball program drew the attention of entertainer and philanthropist Russell Simmons, who donated $25,000 to the program.

But some say those programs have come at the expense of fighting crime in neighborhoods.

The city is in the midst of an increase in violent crime, something that is happening in cities nationally.

City crime data from Jan. 1 to Aug. 22 show citywide serious crimes increased 3 percent from 2014 to 2015.

Violent crime is up 3 percent from 2014 to 2015 through Aug. 22, going from 1,462 crimes to 1,511.

But most troubling to city officials is number of shootings on city streets. They’ve gone from 236 in 2014 to 307 in 2015 – a 30.1 percent increase.

At the start of the summer, City Manager Harry Black called on Blackwell to reduce shootings citywide by 5 percent and reduce overall crime by 10 percent.

Meanwhile two assistant chiefs have left in recent months for new jobs.

Things got so bad that in May that separation papers for Blackwell were drawn up after he suggested in a conversation with Black he might quit, but they were never signed and quickly abandoned. Details of the separation were released to the media in late June. It called for the chief to get one year’s salary (almost $136,000), a $5,000 lump sum and insurance for up to one year, among other things.

Blackwell told The Enquirer in June he doesn’t aspire to leave Cincinnati, but added he won’t stay if he isn’t wanted.

“No one wants to be where they’re not wanted, and me included,” he said then. “And we had a conversation about whether I was a good fit for this job. I think I’m doing a good job. I love this city. I want to stay.”

Enquirer Reporter Cameron Knight contributed.