Former Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge’s attorney has filed for a hearing about her termination from the city, seeking a neutral third-party review.
“We will be asking for the appeal to be heard as soon as reasonably possible, so that this grossly unfair and illegal action can be promptly reversed,” Finney Law Firm’s Stephen Imm, who represents Theetge, said in a letter announcing the appeal had been filed Friday. “We are certain that once this matter is placed before an impartial decision maker who looks at the facts fairly and objectively, the allegations against Terri will be exposed as the rank falsehoods that they are, and the appalling decision to remove one of this city’s finest public servants will be nullified.”
Theetge was officially terminated April 23 by Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long.
The following day, Imm held a news conference, telling reporters of his intent to seek a neutral third party and to have Theetge reinstated.
Imm said she wanted to return to work to restore her reputation.
“She will be ordered back to work if this matter isn’t otherwise resolved when it comes before an impartial decision-maker willing to listen to the evidence,” Imm said Friday, April 24.
After the news conference, Finney Law Firm released a nearly two-hour recording of a pre-disciplinary meeting in which Theetge spoke about her time as police chief. In it, she alleged that Long told her that Mayor Aftab Pureval had mandated that Theetge or Long be removed from their positions, based on political pressure rather than job performance.
Theetge had been on administrative leave since October following questions about her leadership amid public scrutiny of a fatal stabbing in June and a downtown brawl in July. As additional major crimes occurred, Theetge was called back to Cincinnati from a conference in Denver “to address departmental matters,” according to a statement from Long.
Pureval later told reporters the city was “exploring all options” when asked whether new police leadership was under consideration.
After a months-long investigation by an outside law firm hired by the city, officials determined Theetge’s leadership was insufficient.
Ultimately, Imm said, the city should pay for the pain and suffering his client has endured over the past six months.
“If they’re going to insist on kicking her to the curb, ruining her reputation, labeling her service to this city as a failure and making her take the fall for their own mistakes and failings,” Imm said, “then yes, they are going to have to pay for those disgraceful acts.”
Interim Chief Adam Hennie remains in command of the Cincinnati Police Department. The city will provide an update on permanent leadership in the coming weeks.