CINCINNATI (WKRC) - The people who make decisions about who patrols Cincinnati‘s streets and how the police department is run are more diverse than ever.
Thursday in City Council chambers, history was made. The people running the police department, the senior command staff, are more diverse than ever.
Lt. Col. Teresa Theetge said, “I think for sure the community should represent the community that it serves, absolutely. There is a tremendous amount of diversity within the city of Cincinnati communities and, therefore, I think that we should represent that.”
The assistant chief has just been promoted to executive assistant chief. That’s the highest rank any woman has ever held with the Cincinnati Police Department. Theetge comes from a long line of law enforcement officers in her family, including two brothers who served as captains with CPD and a father who was also captain.
“When my family, mostly my children and my grandchildren, now see that I can accomplish something, and I see in their eyes that they are proud of me -- that makes me extremely happy,” Theetge said.
For the first time in the department's history, two women will be assistant chiefs at the same time. Former Cpt. Lisa Davis is now Lt. Col. Davis.
“This is one of the jobs where every day you can feel like you’ve made a difference,“ Davis said.
The assistant chief has served in the Criminal Investigation Section, as a community liaison officer and, most recently, as commander of District 1 in charge of the officers who served neighborhoods including Mt. Adams, the West End, and Over-the-Rhine.
“When we take care of officers and they know that their bosses care about them, whether it’s their mental health and multiple little things, and when we take care of them, they become better cops. They become better to the citizens,” Davis said.
Former Cpt. Martin Mack moved up as well and is now an assistant chief. Mack, who most recently served the Avondale, Bond Hill and Roselawn neighborhoods, is known for community outreach.
He said, “We really are here for the community. I mean, everything that we do, everything, whether it’s the extra things in the sense of these events.“
Different races and women will run the department with the hope of better serving the people of Cincinnati.
Two lieutenants were also promoted at Thursday’s ceremony. Cpt. Douglas Snider was most recently in charge of the Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit. Cpt. Matthew Hammer was most recently assigned to oversee the PIVOT Unit. PIVOT focuses on small areas where violence is a pervasive problem.
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