Departing top cops get $435,000

The Cincinnati Police Department contract allows departing union members to be paid for accumulated sick leave and vacation days, which allowed the two assistant chiefs who left this year to walk away with more than $435,000.

That money will be paid out over several months, the Enquirer learned in documents provided through a public records request.

• Former Assistant Chief James Whalen, who left in August to become Safety Director at the University of Cincinnati, will be paid $336,763, records show.
• Former Assistant Chief Paul Humphries, who left in July for a security job at Coca Cola in Atlanta, will be paid $100,348, records show.

Both earned $56 an hour and had been with the department for roughly 30 years.

The contract specifically says all union members are entitled to be paid for time earned.

“All Cincinnati officers are contractually entitled to certain benefits upon leaving city service related to payment for accumulated time balances," said City of Cincinnati spokesman Rocky Merz said in an email.  "As is the case here, those with longer tenure, generally speaking, have accumulated more time. Though specific separations are not known in advance, the city does plan and budget for separation costs across all departments, including police."

City Manager Harry Black fired Chief Jeffrey Blackwell last month. Blackwell was not entitled to any sick time accumulated, but did receive pay for accumulated vacation. In two years former Blackwell took only one day off. He walked away with $23,220 for the unused day he accumulated in his two years on the job.