Police union leader apologizes for 'urban ghetto' comment after civil rights groups complain
The Cincinnati's Police Department's union president apologized Monday for using the term "urban ghetto" during a visit to a district roll call meeting that has sparked an internal investigation.
"I was emphasizing the complexity of their jobs and how being degraded and mistreated by your superiors makes the job of service more complicated," Fraternal Order of Police President Dan Hils wrote on his Support The Blue In Cincy Facebook page.
"For my choice of grammar, using the term “urban ghetto” statement, I do sincerely apologize for my choice of words."
The apology came after several community groups, including Cincinnati's branch of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations, denounced Hils and asked CPD Chief Eliot Isaac to hold him accountable.
Those groups combined on a statement late Sunday accusing Hils of acting with "recklessness" and asking that he be held to account for "abuse and misuse" of his position.
The public back-and-forth came on the heels of an Enquirer report Dec. 2 about an internal complaint made against Hils by a black female lieutenant. In that complaint, Lt. Danita Pettis alleged that Hils undermined her authority by speaking to the third-shift roll call she supervises on her night off, Nov. 26. A witness statement recounting the events of that meeting was also submitted by Sgt. Dan O'Malley.
According to O'Malley's statement, Hils said working for Pettis made District 4 officers' job even more difficult: "You already have it tough policing in an urban ghetto environment."
District 4 includes Avondale, Bond Hill, Corryville, Mount Auburn and Walnut Hills.
CPD officials confirmed last week that they launched an internal investigation into the incident.
It is unclear what penalties Hils could face if he were found to have violated policies, but any such decision would ultimately be up to Isaac and conform to the existing union contract.
In her complaint, Pettis wrote that Hils bragged about "kicking her a--" when arresting her 25 years ago when she was a civilian and instructed officers how to file a joint complaint against her.
O'Malley also reported that Hils encouraged officers to record their roll call meetings with their bodycams if they feel they needed to protect themselves – which is against CPD policy.
In his Facebook post, Hils wrote that other officers were concerned about how Pettis was treating subordinates, and specifically how she followed up a shots-fired call.
"A tape recording of the command officer’s demeaning response to an officer’s inquiry was played ... Hearing the content of the tape and the abusive treatment of subordinates it compelled me to share personnel (sic) experience and knowledge of this command officer’s recorded pattern of conduct and character, which leads to the statement that was misrepresented reference the arrest 25 years ago."
O'Malley wrote that Hils said that Pettis "was able to manage working her way up and became a lieutenant only because she will kick, scream, b---h and yell it was race, sexism, or whatever. I never would have imagined she would be my superior."
Said the statement from the civil rights groups: Hils "must not be permitted to come to the workplace and undermine the leadership of a superior officer. Hils actions are deplorable and display his contempt towards a senior ranked Cincinnati Police Department officer, which seem personal and inflammatory. Hils is unhappy that he is subordinate to Lt. Pettis. It further demonstrates a lack of respect for the leadership of the CPD and this city."
Other groups named in the statement were the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the National Action Network (NAN) and the Sentinels Police Association.
Hils was elected FOP president two years ago. The local union represents 1,000 officers and 1,700 retirees.
This is just the latest controversy involving him.
Hils vowed early in his term to work closely with the Sentinels Police Association, a group consisting of mostly of African-American officers. However, the FOP and Sentinels clashed earlier this year other whether to participate in the update process of the city's historic Collaborative Agreement of 2002.
The FOP membership changed its position in a second vote.
Then this fall, Hils asked the Hamilton County prosecutor to intervene in a city and CPD investigation into a use-of-force incident.
That led to a judge issuing a temporary restraining order in late October that barred city investigators from interviewing the officers involved – and an angry late-night phone call from Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black.
Hils recorded that call, and later asked for criminal charges and filed a grievance with the city. Both were denied.
President Donald Trump hasn’t exactly had a cozy relationship with our nation’s intelligence network. With the FBI in “tatters,” as he recently tweeted, what is a beleaguered president to do? Why, start his own intelligence network, of course.
The Intercept just published a deep dive that details Trump and CIA director Mike Pompeo’s efforts to build their own spy agency, which would be loyal to the president’s agenda.
Who is alleged to be spearheading this idea? Blackwater founder Erik Prince and, wait for it, 1980s superstar paper shredder Oliver North. Yeah, the Contragate guy.
A spy agency that reports directly to Donald Trump run by two of the most secretive men on the planet. What could possibly go wrong?
Now, it must be noted, this information is based on one report and The Intercept goes out of their way to state that this is far from a done deal.
The reasoning behind the possible creation of this backchannel spy agency? It’s enough to make one’s face permanently distort into something that could only be described as “existential nausea.” The agency would be cooked up to battle “deep state” enemies of the Trump administration.
“Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy, so we need to create this thing that reports just directly to him,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official with knowledge of these proposals. “It is a direct-action arm, totally off the books.”
“The whole point is this is supposed to report to the president and Pompeo directly.”
Before we get too worked up, imagining life in an Alex Jones-inspired hellscape where we are forced to choke down overpriced horse pills at gunpoint, it must be reiterated that White House officials have denied this report.
“I can find no evidence that this ever came to the attention of anyone at the NSC or [White House] at all,” wrote Michael N. Anton, a spokesperson for the National Security Council. “The White House does not and would not support such a proposal.”
Other intelligence officials, however, have contradicted Anton, stating that there have been several meetings on the matter with high ranking White House personnel, including Vice President Mike Pence.
So, yikes? Half-yikes? Half-yikes.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People released a statement today denouncing Donald Trump’s visit to the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Saturday, justifying their attack by saying the president’s record on civil rights has “been abysmal.”
The president and CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson released the following statement in response to the White House’s announcement that Trump will be attending the opening ceremonies:
“President Trump’s statements and policies regarding the protection and enforcement of civil rights have been abysmal and his attendance is an affront to the veterans of the civil rights movement. He has created a commission to reinforce voter suppression, refused to denounced white supremacists, and overall, has created a racially hostile climate in this nation.”
The specific issues Johnson references include Trump’s widely criticized response to the Charlottesville, Virginia racist rally, in which he blamed violence on “many sides” — despite a white supremacist killing a woman.
During today’s briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to these objections, saying, “I think that would be honestly very sad. I think this is this is something that should bring the country together to celebrate the opening of this museum and highlighting the civil rights movement and the progress that we’ve made.”
Additionally, Dr. Amos Brown — an NAACP board member — hit Trump with even harsher terms than Johnson.
“As a freedom fighter and contemporary of Emmett Till, Trump’s visit is an insult. He has never been a supporter of civil rights or equal opportunity or justice. He’s been silent on civil rights issues, and his silence speaks volumes,” said Brown.
