Police funding has become a major dividing line in the Cincinnati mayoral race between two Democrats.
David Mann's first, and so far only, television ad attacks his opponent Aftab Pureval on his plan for the Cincinnati Police department.
Mann, in the ad, accused Pureval of wanting to "defund the police." Pureval has repeatedly said throughout the campaign he doesn't support defunding the police.
What's the truth?
The ad
It starts with two clips from local news stations regarding crime stories.
Newscaster 1: "Tonight more deadly violence in Cincinnati"
Newscaster 2: "Two children shot Saturday night."
Narrator:
"As gun violence rises, we can’t afford a weak mayor. But Aftab Pureval is working against law enforcement, siding with activists who want to defund the police. Pureval’s own plans say 'pull cops off our streets.' David Mann will protect all our families. David’s record, hiring over a hundred new police officers, working with the neighborhood leaders. David Mann, a mayor to keep us safe."
The facts
Gun violence has risen in the city. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, shootings and aggravated assaults have increased in Cincinnati. The average number of shootings in 2020 and the first six months of 2021 increased 31%, an Enquirer analysis showed. Assaults in three neighborhoods, Westwood, Over-the-Rhine and Walnut Hills increased 73% in the past year.
But nowhere in Pureval's 13-page plan for criminal justice reform does he say he wants to "pull cops off our street." It also doesn't say whether he'd increase or decrease the public safety budget or police force.
Pureval told The Enquirer on Thursday he wants to hire more police officers. And he would do that by pursuing federal grants and expanding vocational training in high schools to recruit more officers.
He didn't cite a specific number of officers or cost, saying he would work that out with the city administration and council.
"We need more officers," Pureval told The Enquirer. "Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Police Department is facing lower recruit classes and more retirements. It's not good for anyone. Our police officers are overworked and burnt out."
In two previous Enquirer debates as well as an early question-and-answer session, Pureval did not say he wanted to hire more police officers. He has instead talked about the need for police reform while saying he's against defunding.
Mann's ad cites page 5 of Pureval's 13-page plan where he proposes using more mental health professionals to respond to situations that don't require an armed response.
These situations could include mental illness, addiction and homelessness, according to Pureval's plan.
"We can lean more heavily on using trained (and unarmed) crisis responders, instead of officers, in such instances," Pureval said in his plan. "This will not only reduce the potential for violent encounters while also providing better services to those in crisis, but also free up officers to devote more of their time responding to violent crimes."
Pureval said that doesn't mean pulling officers off the streets.
When told by The Enquirer on Thursday that Pureval said he wanted to recruit more police officers, Mann told The Enquirer this is the first he'd heard of that.
"In the months he engaged in debates and so forth, he never said he supports adding cops," Mann said. He stood by the ad.
When Pureval launched his police plan in a press conference on the steps of the Hamilton County Courthouse on Sept. 17, he didn't give a yes-or-no answer when asked whether he'd take money away from the police department to pay for mental health professionals and other parts of his plan.
"Part of the plan is using our resources effectively and efficiently," Pureval said in September in response to the question. "When I talk to police officers on the street, what they complain to me about is the fact that, oftentimes, they’re wasting their time being a taxicab or responding to issues that have nothing to do with the police."
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