Friday, April 28, 2000
Police union criticizes Luken
Mayor says he's 'befuddled' by criticism
By Robert Anglen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Police union officials say Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken has broken his promise to support officers. They say he has not only failed to publicly back officers involved in a fatal shooting, but on Wednesday voted to cut a police recruit class.
Police union President Keith Fangman said many officers are wishing they could take back the endorsement they gave Mr. Luken when he ran last year.
“If Mayor Luken told our endorsement committee he would lead the effort to eliminate the police recruit class, then he probably would not have gotten our endorsement,” he said. “This mayor seems more concerned about poll numbers than he does about (promises).”
The police union endorsement is traditionally one of the most important for a council member. In 2001, Mr. Luken plans to run for mayor under a new electoral plan that gives the mayor more authority.
Mr. Luken said he has not broken any promises and is “befuddled” by claims that he doesn't care.
“All I ever promised the (union) was a fair shake,” he said Thursday. “I am surprised by this whole thing. I did what I thought was right. I still think today that it was right, and I'd do it again.”
Mr. Luken said the police chief recommended cutting July's recruit class as part of a budget reduction and contends the loss of 28 recruits will not affect the number of officers on the street.
“There were seven votes on council for cutting the recruit class,” he said. “I would never presume to tell (council members) how to vote.”
But Mr. Fangman said three council members claim the mayor pressured them into voting for the cut. He added there were no plans to eliminate the class until the council — under Mr. Luken's direction — voted for city-wide budget cuts.
“The (union) does not want to get into a war with the mayor,” Mr. Fangman said. “We do not want to have the kind of blood feud that is going on between the police unions in Cleveland and Louisville, Ky., and their mayors.”
Mr. Fangman said Mr. Luken has a record of failing to support officers involved in police shootings going back to his first term as mayor in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“There were a dozen while he was mayor,” Mr. Fangman said. “Even after the officers were cleared, he
never said anything.”
And he said the mayor has remained silent on a fatal March shooting in Avondale, where three officers fired 26 bullets at 23-year-old Alfred Lamont Pope.
“I was as supportive as I could be,” Mr. Luken said, adding that in interviews he referred to administration findings that the officers were justified. “When someone is shot, I want to wait for the facts to come out before I say anything.”
While the three officers involved are on full active duty, the shooting is still being probed by the police department's internal affairs division, the Office of Municipal Investigation and the civilian police review board.
“The first issue I dealt with as mayor was rehiring laidoff police officers,” Mr. Luken said. “I have a deep respect for the po lice officers of this city.”
He questioned why the criticism has not been brought up before.
Mr. Fangman said it has.
“After the mayor's endorsement interview, I asked him personally if he would publicly support officers who are forced to use deadly force,” he said. “(Mr. Luken) responded without hesitation: He said, "Yes.'”
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