FOP President Says 'Master Let You Back Into the Field' Comment Doesn't Warrant Punishment for Officer

The president of Cincinnati’s police union is coming to the defense of an officer who is accused of making a racist remark toward a Black colleague.

Officer Kurtis Latham, who is white, is on desk duty while the department conducts an internal investigation into claims that Latham told Officer Bakari Shaw, who is Black, “So, the master let you back in the field today,” according to a statement from the Cincinnati NAACP.

“This insensitive, hurtful and racist comment has no place in bias-free policing,” the local NAACP chapter said in a press release. “We demand swift action and accountability of the police officer that made the comment and that he receive the appropriate discipline.”

According to a statement from Cincinnati Police Department Chief Teresa Theetge, an investigation was ordered immediately into the situation last week.

"Under my leadership, all personnel of the Cincinnati Police Department will always be held to a high standard of professionalism to ensure we earn and maintain the trust of the citizens we serve," Theetge said.

A poorly-worded "joke"

But Dan Hils, the officer-elected leader of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, Cincinnati’s police union, told CityBeat that Latham’s statement was a poorly-worded joke that shouldn’t result in punishment.

“I think this is more in the area of counseling and training than it is punishment. His intention was to make comment about a strict supervisor,” he said.


“In a sense, he was grouping himself with [Shaw] in the way they are treated by a specific supervisor,” Hils said.

According to the FOP, Latham tried to contact Shaw to offer an apology in person, but Hils was not able to confirm to CityBeat whether or not the two officers have spoken since the incident.

Past comments from CPD officers

The investigation comes after CPD has experienced multiple cases of officers saying the n-word on the job, leading city manager Sheryl Long to approve a near zero-tolerance policy for using slurs on the job for all city employees.

Long told CityBeat she’s asked Theetge to prioritize the investigation into Latham’s choice of words.

“I have asked Chief Theetge to prioritize this investigation due to the seriousness of the allegations. I am committed to a fair and equitable workplace for all city employees,” Long said.

Frustration over investigation process

Hils, who has been an outspoken critic of the internal investigation process at CPD, said this investigation should have been over by now.

“I think that the [police department] does not serve itself well by lengthy investigations that the facts should not take long to understand,” Hils said. “This is not a complex issue, this was a poor choice of words. This is another one of those cases where I could conduct the investigation in about an hour. It should reach no higher than a level of maybe some written counseling.”

The investigation into the incident is still underway.