Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long fired Police Chief Teresa Theetge on Thursday after concluding that the city's top cop provided ineffective leadership during a violent stretch that included a nationally watched downtown assault and two shootings near Fountain Square. The termination letter, portions of which Fox News Digital published, paints a picture of a chief who openly disagreed with the city's anti-violence plan, ignored pleas for more officers on the street, and skipped a public safety meeting the night after a shooting to attend a play.
Long did not mince words. In the letter, she told Theetge she had "begged" her to fill the police work details called for in the city's Summer Safety Plan, a plan that called for increased coverage in Cincinnati's urban core. Theetge, Long wrote, admitted she did not agree with it.
The firing caps a turbulent period for Cincinnati's first female police chief, who spent roughly three years at the helm of a department she had served for more than 35 years. During that time, the city endured a viral mob beating in its downtown business district, back-to-back shootings in its most prominent public square, and a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by four White male officers who allege Theetge systematically discriminated against them in promotions and assignments.
A summer of violence and a chief who pushed back
The breaking point traces back to last summer. Long's termination letter describes a city manager who wanted more boots on the ground in high-crime areas and a police chief who resisted. The Summer Safety Plan explicitly called for additional police coverage in the urban core. Theetge, by her own admission as described in the letter, did not agree with it and did not fill the work details the plan required.
Then came the July 26 incident. In the early-morning hours, a confrontation outside the LoVe nightclub at the corner of Fourth and Elm Street in downtown Cincinnati turned into a violent assault captured on video. At least two White victims were beaten to the ground by a group of Black suspects. One woman was left with neurological damage. Another victim suffered what was described as a possibly life-altering brain injury.
The footage went viral. Cincinnati found itself under national scrutiny last August. Over the following month, seven people were arrested and charged with crimes related to the beating. Police said an eighth person was also charged, though that individual was considered a victim.
Theetge's response to the crisis drew sharp criticism. National Review reported that Theetge faced major backlash after saying media had taken the attack "out of context" and that the department's response in charging suspects was delayed. She was reportedly asked to resign before being placed on administrative leave but refused. Assistant Chief Adam Hennie was named interim chief.
The pattern of failed police leadership is not unique to Cincinnati. A former New Haven police chief was recently arrested on allegations of stealing $85,000 from department accounts, part of a broader trend of senior law enforcement officials facing serious accountability questions.
A play instead of a public safety meeting
The summer violence was bad enough. Then came October. Two shootings struck the Fountain Square area in downtown Cincinnati. Long's termination letter zeroed in on what happened the day after the second shooting.
On October 14, Long wrote, Theetge chose to attend a play rather than show up at a public safety town hall meeting convened in response to the shootings. Long's letter was blunt: a police chief "should not need to be told to attend a public safety meeting... the night after a shooting on Fountain Square."
That detail alone tells you something about priorities. A city reeling from gun violence in its most visible public space. Residents demanding answers. And the chief of police sitting in a theater.
Just The News reported that Theetge had been placed on administrative leave in October over her failure to reduce the city's violent crime rate, a move that preceded the formal termination announced Thursday.
Discrimination lawsuit adds another layer
The leadership failures were not Theetge's only problem. In May of last year, four White male officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that Theetge and the city had systematically passed them over for promotions and preferred assignments because of their race and sex.
The lawsuit, a copy of which was posted on Scribd, alleged that "Defendants' intentional and discriminatory practices in assigning Lieutenants to preferred assignments has disproportionately favored non-White males and/or females, without legitimate, non-discriminatory justification, thereby denying Plaintiffs equal employment opportunities."
The complaint went further, alleging that the city and Theetge "actively and systemically undertaken efforts to promote, advance, and make promotion and assignment decisions that are preferable to women and minorities, and to the exclusion of white men, including through hiring, diversity initiatives, outreach programs, promotional processes, and other steps."
The officers' filing described a pattern broad enough to call Theetge "that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority." Whether the lawsuit ultimately succeeds in court remains to be seen. But its existence added another weight to a chief already struggling under questions about her effectiveness and judgment.
Accountability for law enforcement leaders has become a recurring theme nationwide. In Arizona, a recall effort was launched against a Pima County sheriff over concerns about case handling, reflecting growing public impatience with officials who fail to meet basic expectations of their office.
Long's review and the official verdict
Long framed the firing as the conclusion of a formal review. Her public statement acknowledged Theetge's long career while making clear the outcome was not close.
Long stated:
"I recognize Chief Theetge's more than 35 years of service to the Cincinnati Police Department and to this City. At the same time, after completing this review, it's become clear that a change in leadership is necessary for the department moving forward."
The termination letter laid out the specific grounds: ineffective leadership, poor communication, failure to adhere to the Summer Safety Plan, and a failure to provide leadership in response to the Fountain Square shootings. Long cited Theetge's own admissions, that she disagreed with the safety plan, that she had to be begged to fill the staffing details, and that she chose a play over a public safety meeting.
Theetge's attorney, Stephen Imm, pushed back. National Review reported that Imm said "the chief's sincere hope is the city will rethink this hasty and unlawful decision and reinstate her to her position promptly." That language suggests a legal challenge may follow.
Mayor Aftab Pureval's office did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The broader challenge of keeping officers safe and holding leadership accountable extends well beyond Cincinnati. Two suspects were recently charged after ambushing a U.S. Park Police officer in Washington, D.C., a reminder that the stakes of public safety leadership are measured in real danger to real people.
What Cincinnati's residents deserved
The facts in this case are not complicated. A city experienced a surge in violent crime. City leadership drew up a plan to put more officers where they were needed most. The police chief disagreed with the plan, resisted filling the details, and had to be begged to act. When shootings hit the city's most iconic public space, she went to a play instead of facing the community.
Meanwhile, officers under her command filed a federal lawsuit alleging she ran a promotion system that favored candidates by race and sex rather than merit. Victims of a brutal downtown beating were left with brain injuries and neurological damage. And when the national spotlight turned to Cincinnati, the chief told the media the coverage was taken "out of context."
Scandals involving senior police officials are not limited to any one city. A D.C. police lieutenant was recently charged in an undercover sting, another case where the public's trust in law enforcement leadership was tested by the conduct of those at the top.
Long described the termination as necessary. Given the record, it is hard to argue otherwise. The people of Cincinnati, the residents who walk through Fountain Square, the business owners in the downtown district, the officers who put on the uniform every day, deserved a chief who would show up, follow the plan, and treat public safety as the job's first obligation.
When a city manager has to beg a police chief to put officers on the street during a crime surge, the problem isn't staffing. It's leadership.
