Streicher’s Slippery Hold on the Facts

Once again, Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr.’s actions and comments don’t hold up to public scrutiny, giving citizens yet more reason to question his credibility and judgment.

Longtime Porkopolis readers will remember that Streicher assigned the Police Department’s honor guard — consisting of 10 police officers, along with several horses and motorcycles — to appear at his aunt’s funeral late last year.

When The Cincinnati Enquirer confronted him, Streicher initially denied Dec. 14 that any officers worked the event at all. After a hastily called meeting with the city manager, who is the chief’s boss, Streicher sent the city a personal check for $1,767 to cover the cost for the perks that supposedly weren’t provided; the city received the check Dec. 18, but it was dated one day after the newspaper’s inquiry.

At the time, Streicher and his inner circle floated the idea that nothing uncommon had occurred. Any citizen could request the honor guard’s presence at a funeral for a fee, they said.

To verify Streicher’s claims, CityBeat submitted a public records request to the Police Department that sought copies of its procedures for using the honor guard at private, non-police funerals. The newspaper also sought any records about its use at such funerals from 2005 to the present.

CityBeat eventually got a reply.

“The honor guard did not participate in any non-police funerals,” said Police Lt. Mark Briede.

No written procedures about renting the honor guard apparently exist. With that in mind, CityBeat asked how Streicher calculated he owed the city $1,767 for its use but hasn’t yet received any response.

The information really shouldn’t be surprising. It’s far from the first time that Streicher has made a claim publicly that’s turned out to be misleading or just plain wrong.

When Streicher phoned into WKRC (550 AM) in January to defend his decision not to spend money that Cincinnati City Council specifically allocated for extra overtime patrols, the chief claimed he did so to help with a budget crisis and avoid possible police layoffs. “What happens when we don’t have enough money to balance the budget?” he said. “Y’know what historically the city of Cincinnati will do? They’re gonna lay off police officers.”

Well, not quite. City officials last laid off police officers in the late 1970s. Since 2000 the city has hired 135 officers, despite predictions of deficits in almost every year.

In November Streicher said a home invasion robbery at a Clifton Heights apartment occurred because drug dealers lived there. A county prosecutor said that wasn’t true when he accepted a plea deal from the robbers earlier this month.

In 2003 Streicher said 23 men arrested as part of a money-laundering ring channeled the cash to the Middle East to fund what he suspected was terrorism. A judge later said that simply wasn’t true.

This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2008.