Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge Still on Paid Leave. Will City Charter Block Firing?

Article Summary:
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge remains on paid administrative leave after a closed-door hearing at City Hall. No final decision has been announced, and the outcome may hinge on how the city interprets its own charter rules, not just the findings of an independent investigation.

Nearly six months after being placed on paid leave following a series of high-profile downtown incidents, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge remains in limbo.

She met with City Manager Sheryl Long in a closed-door hearing as the city weighs its next move.

But whether she returns or is removed may come down to more than performance. It could depend on how Cincinnati interprets its own charter, how much weight it gives the outside investigation, and whether this becomes another expensive leadership fight for the city. At the center of this debate is Teresa Theetge, whose future with the city remains uncertain.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge Remains in Limbo After Hearing

Theetge met with Long on April 10 in a closed-door pre-disciplinary hearing that lasted roughly two hours. The meeting followed the release of an outside report on her leadership and the public fallout that followed.

The hearing gave Theetge and her attorney, Stephen Imm, the opportunity to respond point by point to the findings. No decision was announced afterward, and the city has described the matter as ongoing.

For now, Theetge remains chief in title, though she has been on paid administrative leave since October 2025. Interim Chief Adam Hennie continues to oversee daily department operations.

After the hearing, Theetge spoke publicly for the first time since her leave began. That matters. A process that had mostly played out through reports, leaks, and statements from others suddenly had her voice back in it.

Downtown Cincinnati Crime Trends Help Explain the Pressure

The scrutiny surrounding Theetge did not emerge in a vacuum.

Citywide, Cincinnati crime trends in 2025 were relatively stable and in some categories improved. But downtown told a different story, especially where visibility and perception were concerned.

In the Central Business District and surrounding riverfront area, a series of high-profile incidents shifted the public conversation. That included a viral summer street brawl, a double shooting near Fountain Square involving teenagers, and a separate fatal shooting after a Bengals game. Those events did not define all of downtown crime, but they dominated how many residents experienced the issue.

The official City of Cincinnati reported crime dashboard and the latest CBD/Riverfront neighborhood crime report show why the debate became so heated. Violent crime downtown remained a relatively small share of total incidents, but the concentration of shootings and disorder in the city’s core entertainment district gave those incidents outsized political and public impact.

That helps explain the core contradiction here. On paper, citywide crime did not point to collapse. In practice, downtown safety concerns became impossible for City Hall to ignore.

Public Safety Perception and Downtown Crime Are Not the Same Thing

This is where the story gets more complicated than a simple crime spike narrative.

Most downtown offenses were still property crimes, especially theft from vehicles. Violent crime was not the majority of reported incidents. But public perception does not form around spreadsheets. It forms around viral videos, weekend shootings, and whether people feel comfortable bringing family or friends downtown at night.

That perception appears to have had real effects. As recent concerns about Cincinnati crime have grown, the pressure on city leaders has widened beyond policing alone and into the broader question of confidence in downtown itself.

Cincinnati City Charter Rules May Limit Removal of the Police Chief

At first glance, the police chief position might seem fully at-will. But the city charter language complicates that.

After six months in the role, the police chief can only be removed for cause and is entitled to written charges and an opportunity to be heard before a final decision is made. That means the issue is not simply whether City Hall has lost confidence in Theetge. The issue is whether the city can justify removal under the governing rules it already adopted.

Because Theetge has served well beyond that six-month threshold, those protections likely matter here. The April 10 hearing appears to be part of the city’s effort to satisfy that requirement.

Conflict Between the Charter and the “At Pleasure” Memo

The legal tension is not hard to spot.

City officials have pointed to a signed document describing the chief’s role as serving “at the pleasure” of the city manager. That memo became public last fall and has been central to the city’s side of the dispute.

But Theetge’s legal team has argued that the charter overrides any internal employment memo that appears to offer broader removal power than the charter itself allows. If the city moves toward termination, that conflict will likely become one of the most important issues in any lawsuit.

The Theetge Report Added Fuel, Not Closure

The public release of the independent investigation did not settle the issue. It widened it.

The report concluded that Theetge “has not been an effective leader,” but it also opened new questions about who shaped the process, how much weight should be given to anonymous complaints, and whether City Hall was looking for accountability or a politically useful answer. Readers who want the full background can review our prior coverage of the leadership findings and the full investigation report PDF.

That is part of why this story has stuck. It is not just about one report. It is about whether the report genuinely resolved a leadership failure or merely formalized a political rupture that had already occurred.

Past Cincinnati Public Safety Disputes Raise the Stakes

This is not the first time Cincinnati has faced legal exposure over how it handled a top public safety leader.

A similar dispute involving former Fire Chief Michael Washington has already raised major due process questions under the same city manager. That history matters because it suggests the current fight may not end with an internal decision. It may move into court.

Cincinnati has also paid before when leadership disputes turned into legal battles. That does not mean the city automatically loses these cases. It does mean taxpayers have reason to care how carefully City Hall handles them.

Potential Lawsuit Could Shift the Story Again

Theetge’s attorney has made clear that if the city takes adverse action, litigation is likely to follow.

The likely arguments are already visible. Her side can point to a lack of documented performance concerns before the leave, the timing of the move after downtown incidents and near an election, and the charter language requiring cause and process. The city, on the other hand, can argue that it used an outside investigation, followed by a hearing, and allowed her to respond.

That is why the next decision matters so much. A reinstatement would be politically difficult. A firing could be legally difficult. And any halfway measure may satisfy neither side.

What Happens Next for CPD Leadership

City Manager Sheryl Long now faces a decision with operational, political, and legal consequences.

Possible outcomes include reinstatement, discipline short of removal, or termination. Each would say something different about what City Hall believes this case is really about.

If Theetge returns, the city will have to explain why a report this severe did not justify removal. If she is fired, the city will likely have to defend that decision under both the charter and the facts. If the matter drags on, the leadership vacuum itself becomes part of the story.

Bigger Questions About Cincinnati Leadership, Crime, and Accountability

This case is no longer just about one person’s future.

It has become a test of how Cincinnati handles visible public safety failures, how much due process it affords senior officials, and whether the city is confronting underlying problems or simply assigning blame at the top.

That is also why this story connects to broader conversations already underway on public safety strategy, downtown crime reduction efforts, and the wider debate over whether Cincinnati is starting to drift.

For now, the city has not answered the central question. Was Teresa Theetge an ineffective leader who could no longer run the department, or has she become the most visible target in a larger struggle over crime, politics, and accountability in Cincinnati?

Takeaway

The future of Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge may not be decided by headlines alone. The tension may decide it between downtown crime perception, City Hall politics, and the city charter’s limits on removal power.

That makes this more than a personnel story. It is a story about how Cincinnati uses power when pressure is highest.

Reader question: Do you think this situation is mainly about leadership, or about something bigger happening inside Cincinnati government?

Read More

What the Theetge Report Reveals About CPD Leadership in Cincinnati

FAQs

Why is Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge on leave?

Teresa Theetge was placed on paid administrative leave in October 2025 following a series of high-profile incidents in downtown Cincinnati, including shootings and public safety concerns near Fountain Square. An independent investigation later concluded her leadership was not effective.

Has Teresa Theetge been fired as Cincinnati police chief?

No. As of now, no final decision has been announced. She remains on paid administrative leave after a pre-disciplinary hearing with City Manager Sheryl Long.

Can Cincinnati fire its police chief at any time?

Not exactly. Under the Cincinnati City Charter, once a police chief has served more than six months, they can only be removed “for cause” and must be given written charges and an opportunity to respond.

What is the dispute over the city charter?

The conflict centers on whether the police chief serves “at the pleasure” of the city manager or is protected by the charter’s “for cause” requirement. This could become a key legal issue if the city attempts to terminate Theetge.