Thursday, October 25, 2001
Local cops say report not a surprise
By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati police reaction to the recommendations from the Department of Justice on Wednesday was neither relief nor surprise.
From the top brass to rank-and-file officers, many in the police division said the preliminary recommendations for improvement were what they expected.
Lt. Col. Richard Janke, an assistant police chief, said he looked over the 23-page report but would have to scour it before making any judgments.
“We've been clued in from the beginning,” he said Wednesday night. “They've been open in the whole process. We weren't blind-sided. We were very involved.”
Lt. Col. Janke does, though, expect some debate.
“I can't say I agree with everything they say, but there are certainly some reasonable recommendations in the document,” he said. “There's always room for improvement.”
Officer Tim Hains, who has been with the division since 1990, said he was pleased with the recommendations. The officer works on the city's new Violent Crimes Task Force, formed in response to the unprecedented violence that shook the city in the months after the riots.
“I was happy that they're not going to try to do what they did in Columbus and Pittsburgh,” he said, referring to Justice Department investigations into those police departments.
The Pittsburgh investigation resulted in a consent decree, and the Columbus investigation is still mired in court wrangling.
“I'm glad that the federal government is not going to put us through a lot to solve problems other cities have that we don't,” Officer Hains said.
If the recommendations have merit and won't adversely affect the division's budget, they'll likely be done, Lt. Col Janke said.
“If we can improve our service to the community — if even from a perception standpoint — we're going to do it if we see value in it.”
In the busy District 1 office in the West End late Wednesday, Sgt. Phil Buccino glanced over the recommendations. They wouldn't shock his officers, he said.
“We've been pushing this anyways,” he said. “I tell my guys everyday that they're accountable for what they do: any way they talk to people, any way they handle a situation, use of force.
“They know accountability. We talk about it all the time.”
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