When the head of a city’s police force starts sounding like a PR flack instead of a tough-on-crime cop, hardworking Cincinnatians should be alarmed — and that’s exactly what happened with Chief Teresa Theetge. Her recent handling of a wave of violent incidents downtown, and the bizarre, tone-deaf messages that followed, have landed her squarely under fire and reportedly prompted City Manager Sheryl Long to ask for her resignation.
This crisis didn’t appear out of nowhere — a double shooting on Fountain Square and other brazen acts of violence have forced city leaders to announce a “show of force,” curfews, and other emergency measures to try to restore basic public safety. The political response — more spin and photo ops — has done nothing to calm the public; concerned citizens want arrests, prosecutions, and predictable policing, not talking points.
Cincinnati’s summer was rocked by a grotesque viral brawl that left a young mother known as “Holly” with brain trauma and a city asking how this could happen in broad daylight. The footage shocked the nation, suspects were eventually arrested, and a massive outpouring of support for the victim followed — but what it also revealed was a city administration slow to act and quick to lecture the public about “context” instead of delivering justice.
Meanwhile, rank-and-file officers — the men and women who actually put their lives on the line — have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the chief and the city of running promotions and assignments by politics and identity instead of merit. When your officer corps feels demoralized because leadership rewards politics over competence, public safety suffers and citizens pay the price.
The Fraternal Order of Police and local leaders have openly questioned the city’s approach, and national figures have piled on demanding accountability; this is a classic consequence of putting woke optics above law enforcement effectiveness. Voters and taxpayers are tired of being lectured about narratives while being left to foot the bill for a downtown that feels unsafe — it’s time to stop the virtue signaling and start backing the blue with policies that deter crime and punish offenders.
If the chief’s “message for criminals” sounded like an invitation to anarchy, that’s because it was — a sheriff, a mayor, or a city manager who truly cares about safety wouldn’t choose soft words when people are getting hurt. Cincinnati deserves leaders who will lock up violent repeat offenders, support officers who enforce the law, and stop playing political games with public safety; anything less is a betrayal of the quiet, working families who keep this city running.
