Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Panel hears opinions on chief's slur

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Streicher denies he's a racist; discipline due soon

By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher said Tuesday his use of a racial slur during a training session was a mistake.

        The chief denied that he is racist and said he will never say the offensive word again.

CHIEF THOMAS STREICHER AND ASSISTANT SAFETY DIRECTOR RODNEY PRINCE. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        During a May 10 management training session, Chief Streicher used the slur while role-playing during a class about handling citizens' complaints.

        He offended an African-American sergeant when he pointed at him and said “If I was to refer to Andre Smith as a nigger ...”

        City Manager John Shirey is expected to announce disciplinary action against the chief soon, possibly today.

        Members of City Council's Law and Public Safety Committee discussed the issue for nearly two hours Tuesday, listening to various citizens call for everything from a public apology to firing the chief and Mr. Shirey.

        Chief Streicher said he was trying to do the right thing when he put himself in the role of an offensive citizen.

        He said he was only trying to strongly tackle the long-neglected issue of race relations within his division during training, and now is distressed that he ended up being portrayed as prejudiced against black people.

        “I tried to do the right thing and now the tables have been turned,” he said.

        Henderson Kirkland, a longtime West End community activist, said he remembers very well how hurtful it is when people call him an offensive name. He and several other African-Americans repeatedly said the word should never be tolerated in any setting.

        Scotty Johnson, president of the Sentinel Police Association, the African-American officers group, again said the organization was not looking for specific punishment. He said members want the city administration to do the right thing and that the handling of this situation needs to grow into a good process for dealing with bigger race-relations problems within the division.

        Cecil Thomas, director of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, urged the committee to consider bringing in federal mediators to help the city deal with its broader race issues. The chief's comment, he said, showed the division has deeper race-relations concerns.

        Councilmen Charles Winburn, the committee chairman, and Todd Portune both said they would consider inviting the U.S. Department of Justice to help. Councilman Jim Tarbell, however, questioned whether federal officials would be best, because they wouldn't know the local nuances.

        Chief Streicher and Sgt. Smith, the District 2 supervisor who complained about the slur, met again Tuesday. The two agreed to work together on racial problems within the division, the chief said. They had a previous meeting, too, during which the chief apologized.

        The chief was reviewing the Citizens Complaint Resolution process with Sgt. Smith and about 15 other supervisors at the police academy when he used the term. Safety Director Kent Ryan, who investigated the complaint, said some of the other supervisors who heard the word were shocked by it. But they still gave the chief a high rating for the session and asked that he teach more often.

        Nobody thought the chief said what he did with malice, Mr. Ryan said, and they all said they still trusted him.

       

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