By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Police Lt. Jeff Butler inspects his officers during their third-shift roll call at District 1 headquarters Thursday. Though accused of using a racial slur five years ago, Butler insists, "It's not a word I use in my vocabulary." The Cincinnati Enquirer/JEFF SWINGER

Jeff Butler is looking for a stolen car.

It's a little after 1 a.m. in Over-the-Rhine and the Cincinnati police lieutenant is determined to find the 1993 red Chevrolet Caprice taken earlier at gunpoint.

He spots a red car. Not a Caprice. He stops at a similar-looking Chevrolet and runs the plate through the computer in his cruiser. Not stolen.

Butler is third-shift supervisor in District 1, which includes Over-the-Rhine and the West End, two predominantly black neighborhoods and two of the city's most violent. They lead Cincinnati annually in numbers of homicides - two in two days this week.

It's quieter tonight. Finding the red Caprice is a mission.

While he searches, Butler discusses the reason people are talking about him these days: He is accused of using a racial slur five years ago during an internal affairs interview. A videotape of the interview surfaced in an unrelated lawsuit in December and was made public. The ensuing controversy has polarized segments of the community.

Butler, on the force since 1986, had been uncharacteristically quiet about the matter on the advice of his attorney. That is, until Councilman Christopher Smitherman announced this week that an analysis of the tape by an Indianapolis audio forensics expert determined Butler used the slur. Smitherman paid for the analysis himself. Smitherman wants City Manager Valerie Lemmie to discipline the lieutenant.

Butler decided it was time to defend himself.

"I know what I said," he says. "And I didn't say that."

He says the word that came out of his mouth that day was "dopers,'' meaning drug dealers. He was a sergeant at the time in the undercover Street Corner drug unit.

He said using a racial epithet is unacceptable.

"It's not a word I use in my vocabulary,'' says the 39-year-old, third-generation cop and father of two. "It's degrading, it's not a word in society that's acceptable. I believe in the professionalism of being a policeman."

Capt. Michael Cureton, the highest-ranking African-American on the department and a former supervisor of Butler's, thinks that, based on seeing the videotape, the lieutenant used the racial slur.

But he says talking so much about it contributes to the "unfortunate cloud'' of suspicion Cincinnati officers work under and gets in the way of real law enforcement work.

"Just because somebody utters an epithet doesn't mean the world has to stop,'' he says. "We just have to be about the best work, the best delivery of police services possible.''

Keith Fangman, who sat next to Butler during the 1999 interview, says he doesn't know what Butler said, but that it definitely wasn't a racial slur. Fangman is vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the police union.

Butler has been embroiled in controversy before.

In 1998, Butler was videotaped spraying chemical irritant in the face of a handcuffed woman after a festival. He was cleared of any wrongdoing. The city's Office of Municipal Investigation suggested he get more training in use of the spray.

Butler was counseled in 1999 on how he wrote reports after police fatally shot Michael Carpenterduring a traffic stop in Northside. Butler was the first supervisor on the scene.

A complaint against him was dismissed last month by the Citizen Complaint Authority after investigators couldn't figure out what he did to prompt a suspect to say Butler was "acting very racist."

Butler says he's an active supervisor who stays out on the streets rather than in the office. That, he says, puts him in more difficult situations.

"What am I doing right now? I'm a lieutenant, and I'm driving around the city looking for a stolen car. When you're active, you get involved in things."

His performance evaluations call him bright and extremely energetic with good leadership skills. He continues to be chosen for choice assignments: the Southern Police Institute management school at the University of Louisville in 2002and assistant commander of the Robbery Task Force the same year.

"I know I'm convicted in the court of public opinion. I accept that with my role as a policeman comes criticism and overview. But also I'm trained as a policeman to wait for the facts and make a rational, sound judgment."

He's convinced the city's investigation will ultimately conclude the allegation of using a racial slur is unfounded.

"And my reputation, though it won't be totally restored, will be better. At least there will be some official document out there saying I didn't say it.''

The shift ends. Still no red Caprice.

"And it's bugging the heck out of me," he says. "But at least I know it's not in my district. I've checked every street.''

E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com