Cincinnati police chief found ‘not an effective leader’ due to high crime rates in city

Cincinnati police chief Teresa Theetge, who’s been on paid leave since October 2025, was found to be “not an effective leader,” due to high crime rates in the city, including the violent incident that highlighted the unsafeness of the town even more after Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to tighten bail requirements.

The five-month independent investigation that was conducted by the law firm FBT Gibbons concluded that Theetge “has not been an effective leader” of the police department, calling her leadership approach “old school,” rigid,” and “authoritarian,” according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.

“The majority of all the witnesses interviewed indicated that Chief Theetge could not return to the CPD and be effective,” the investigators wrote in the report. “And that assessment is supported by the investigation.”

Theetge’s family and attorneys told The Enquirer that the city made a scapegoat out of her when it came to high crime rates in the city.

In a statement issued right after the report was released, one of Theetge’s attorneys, Stephen Imm, criticized it, saying it is false.

“These documents are a shameful collection of outright falsehoods about an honorable public servant,” he said, according to The Enquirer. “What makes it worse is that the city manager and mayor know very well that these statements are false, but have chosen to issue them anyway to try and distract attention from their own failures and misjudgments.”

Earlier in March, another Theetge’s attorney also allegedly said that the report’s findings would be “a hatchet job.”

City Manager Sheryl Long, who has the authority to ultimately fire Theetge, didn’t reveal her decision in a March 31 statement, leaving Theetge on paid leave, which means taxpayers will continue paying her $203,000 annual salary, according to The Enquirer.

“The city is committed to a fair, thorough, and legally sound process,” Long said, confirming that the report was shared with Theetge. “This remains an ongoing personnel matter and it’s important to allow the process to proceed in the time required to protect the integrity of the review. I will not comment further until a decision is made.”

The Cincinnati government paid the law firm up to $49,000 for the investigation, with the original contract set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. The city then extended the contract through February. After that, it extended the contract through March, and FBT Gibbons completed the investigation on March 16.

While conducting an investigation, FBT Gibbons interviewed 32 witnesses, including Theetge, who told the investigators that the city officials did not give her any indication that they were dissatisfied with her leadership until Oct. 13, 2025.

“Chief Theetge believes she is one of the best police chiefs the city has ever had,” the report said.

Long placed Theetge on paid leave after the Cincinnati government was criticized for its high crime rates. Recent cases include a business owner being stabbed to death in his Over-the-Rhine home and a street brawl, which later resulted in the state lawmakers in Columbus introducing a bill to tighten bail requirements.

The Ohio Holly Act was introduced by state Reps. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, and Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Twp., after one of the people who attacked a woman, Holly, after which the bill was named, was released on bail.