Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac visited District One's roll call Thursday afternoon and gave officers a pep talk as they were beginning their shifts. Isaac was appointed Interim Chief after Jeffrey Blackwell was fired Wednesday.
Standing with his command staff, Isaac told the officers, "I want you guys to know you'll be supported by us and we believe in you. We know you are more than capable of doing what needs to be done."
He also answered questions. Officers wanted to know if there would be better communication. To that, Interim Assistant Chief Doug Wiesman answered, "We want to have very clear channels of communication and this afternoon we're going upstairs (District 1 headquarters) to fix it."
Others asked about staffing levels.They were told an extra 24 officers would be out on the street this Sunday. (A recruit class scheduled to begin in February 2016 is expected to graduate another 55 officers in July.)
Isaac continued,"We've all come through this. We know what we do the best. We do problem solving. We do community engagement and we enforce violent crime and that's what we're going to focus on."
He said body cameras are on the way and so are new cars, new tablets, and new radios.
Wiesman added, "We still are the greatest police organization in the country. I know you guys have heard that and believe it. I'm proud everyday to put this uniform on and say I'm a Cincinnati policeman. What transpired yesterday is behind us now and I know each one of you guys are truly professional police officers."
