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Cincinnati FOP To Re-Vote On Whether To Leave Collaborative

Tana Weingartner
/
WVXU
A Cincinnati police rifle line stands at attention during Police Memorial Week in 2015.

The head of the Cincinnati Police union is pulling back from a plan for the Fraternal Order of Police to step away from the table when it comes to refreshing the city's Collaborative Agreement.

In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, Dan Hils writes:

Following the vote Monday on the collaborative agreement I have met with Vice President Don Meece and conferred with our attorney, Steve Lazuraus. Don and I have decided to petition the FOP Executive Board to order a special ballot vote of the membership. The entire membership will be given the opportunity to direct the union to participate, or not, in the Collaborative “Refresh”. We will also petition the floor at the next regular meeting with a motion that retired members abstain from this vote.

Hils announced on Tuesday the membership had voted to leave the refresh process during a meeting Monday night. The move, he said, was largely based on what some officers felt were attacks on Sgt. Shannon Heine after her testimony during the second Ray Tensing trial.

The decision to leave the collaborative drew criticism from the Sentinels, the African-American police organization. President Eddie Hawkins released a statement calling the vote "injury to insult," writing the "decision was made by a majority of members whom are retired and no longer put their lives on the line daily. Any officer can tell you the importance of community-police relations as it relates to officer safety."

In his decision to have a re-vote, Hils says:

In 2002 the entire active duty membership voted to enter the collaborative agreement. To be consistent, the entire membership should be included in this current decision. This is far too important for a small percentage of our members to decide. This decision does not negate the disappointment in the actions of some of the other partners in the collaborative.

A date for a new vote hasn't been set.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.