BY CLIFF RADEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
City hall mixed apples and oranges last week with Linda Pope. She's the widow of Daniel Pope, the Cincinnati police officer who was murdered in December with his partner, Spc. Ronald Jeter.
At a Friday morning press conference, City Manager John Shirey confused paying death benefits with fulfilling moral obligations. Dear John: It's not about the money. It's about keeping promises. The city manager met the press after my Friday column noted that city officials (Mr. Shirey excluded) made promises and gave assurances that expenses for Daniel Pope's funeral would be taken care of. The assurances were not met. And the policeman's widow ended up paying $12,500 in bills.
John Shirey said he was clearing up a "misleading impression" in the column that Linda Pope had not received adequate compensation from the city. He listed the benefits she has received from various sources, including a one-time, lump-sum death benefit of $20,000 from the city. These benefits, I might add, were earned by Linda Pope's late husband. They are not gifts from the city or any other source.
The column wasn't about money. It was about empty promises. And hope.
The column hoped that the promises would be fulfilled. City council is considering paying for the highly public funerals of both Daniel Pope and Ronald Jeter. By taking action, council could help Linda Pope and Ronald Jeter's family get on with their lives. It doesn't matter whether Linda Pope has received enough compensation to wipe out the National Debt and buy all the tea in China with her spare change.
The point of the column was about promises made, not money paid.
Callers go with Linda Pope
Response to the column came from 140 readers and overwhelmingly favored Linda Pope.
"This city stinks. We can spend millions for a freakin' stadium, but can't keep a promise to a widow." - Pam Hamilton, White Oak. "Sue the bums!" - Marcia Wietlisbach, North College Hill. "Cincinnati does this to a dead cop's wife, and it has the gall to call itself a world-class city?" - Bruce Wright, Oakley.
"As the brother of a police officer who was murdered in the line of duty in Virginia, and whose funeral was paid in full by the city, I am outraged to be living in a place that doesn't take care of its law enforcement officers or their widows." - Matthew DeCuypere, Madeira.
"The city administration put on a big show at the officer's funeral with their alligator tears. But when it came time to pay the fiddler, they stuck the widow with the bill. What a crock!" - John Ford, Hamilton.
"Shame on them!" - Carolyn Ripley, Forest Park.
"Proves that you can't put any trust in the words of government officials on any level." - Darryl Hendrickson, Union.
Robert Harold, a Cincinnati police officer, saw the city's response to the broken promises as "a wake-up call. Every officer I know thought if you took a bullet and died, the city would pay for the whole funeral."
"Money doesn't matter in this," he added. "This woman could be getting $1 million a year. The city should still keep its promise. Her husband's dead and she's alone."
Jim Gould, Darryl Combs, Will Fisher and 32 other callers asked for Linda Pope's address. They wanted to send her a check.
"We can't let the city do this to this woman," Will Fisher said. "The little people must help her."
Late last week, Linda Pope told me she appreciates the readers' generosity. "But I don't want their money. This is not a charity issue. It's an issue about empty promises."
If anyone insists on making a donation, she suggests the Shriners Burns Institute, Cincinnati's Police Memorial Fund or Concerns of Police Survivors in Camdenton, Mo.
Linda Pope had one more suggestion. "Save your money," she said, "and do this in Dan's memory... Whenever you make a promise, always make sure you keep it."
Columnist Cliff Radel can be reached at 768-8379; fax 768-8340.
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