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In wake of DuBose case, UC selects three finalists for police chief

Kate Murphy
kmurphy@enquirer.com
Capt. Maris Herold prepares to address comments she made at a meeting Thursday at Bush Recreation Center

The University of Cincinnati Department of Public Safety announced three finalists to lead the university's police following the department's stepped-up off-campus policing under the previous chief that stirred community concern when an officer fatally shot an unarmed black driver last year.

In addition, a Cincinnati Police Department captain is one of two finalists to become the university's assistant police chief, UC announced this week.

The narrowing down of leadership candidates comes after an outside consulting firm's findings that a lack of oversight and accountability system, as well as gaps in leadership and management, under previous departmental leadership helped precipitate an aggressive policy of off-campus policing starting 18 months ago that disparately affected people of color.

An Enquirer search and background information provided by the university revealed the following:

Denson Chatfield Jr. has been the director of public safety at Oregon State University since 2014. The former state trooper also served as associate vice president of campus security at the Art Institute of Chicago for one year and as chief of police at Indiana University for 12 years.

Anthony Carter manages a 34-person unit as the chief for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in Cincinnati. Before joining the bank in 2012, he served in the Cincinnati Police Department for more than 20 years. He most recently served as the assistant to the Chief of Police and before that was a Lieutenant.

•  Ohio State University Police Deputy Chief Craig Stone is also among the finalists for the head position. Before going to OSU a year ago, Stone worked with the Columbus Division of Police for 29 years and recently served as the director of campus safety and chief of police at Cleveland State University for one year.

There are two candidates for assistant chief:

•  Cincinnati Police Department Captain Maris Herold has been the District Four commander for almost two years and has been with CPD since 1993.

•  John Pate, police chief in University Park, Illinois, is also in the running. He joined University Park in 2015 and before that served five years as a commander in the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Chicago.

The university didn't say how much the newcomers would make if hired, but former Chief Jason Goodrich's annual salary was $142,800, and former Assistant Chief Tim Thornton made $100,980 per year.

Goodrich created what he called a "no-fly zone" for criminals around campus through a substantial boost in the number of traffic stops, the Exiger consulting firm's report found earlier this year.

Those stops rose nearly five times in the neighborhoods near UC, hitting an all-time high of 412 per month by early summer. It was on the evening of July 19 that UC Officer Ray Tensing pulled over driver Sam DuBose because his vehicle lacked a front license plate. A short conversation ended when Tensing pulled out his weapon and shot DuBose in the head, killing him, Tensing's body cam video shows.

Tensing was subsequently charged with murder; he has pleaded not guilty. The case led to protests in Cincinnati and pledges by UC to strengthen its policing approach and relationships with the surrounding community.

UC conducted a national search seeking a "diverse pool of highly qualified candidates that reflects the communities that UC Police serves."

An 11-member search committee, led by UC’s director of police community relations S. Gregory Baker, reviewed 65 applications and conducted 10 video conference interviews to select the five finalists.

UC is hosting a series of community forums Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to meet the five candidates.

All members of the UC and Cincinnati communities are encouraged to attend each open forum, meet the candidates, ask questions and then share their thoughts with us,” Baker said in a release. “The thoughts and opinions of all community members are extremely important to us and will be carefully considered by the search committee as we select the next leaders of the UC Police Department.”

The UC Public Safety website under "Leadership Search" also allows visitors to share their thoughts and opinions about the candidates.

UC wants community input in hiring police chief

The new hires will work with the university’s Office of Safety and Reform and the Community Advisory Council, which were established to advise reform efforts following the DuBose shooting.

UC expects the collaboration "to transform UC Police into a model agency for urban campus policing while also providing a safe and secure environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors."

Schedule of Open Forum Sessions

Monday, May 23

Candidate: Denson Chatfield

  • Position: Police Chief
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
  • Location: Teachers College Room 407

Candidate: John Pate

  • Position: Assistant Police Chief
  • Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  • Location: College of Law Room 118

Tuesday, May 24

Candidate: Maris Herold

  • Position: Assistant Police Chief
  • Time: 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
  • Location: Tangeman University Center, Room 400C

Candidate: Anthony Carter

  • Position: Police Chief
  • Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  • Location: Tangeman University Center, Room 417 ABC

Wednesday, May 25:

Candidate: Craig Stone

  • Position: Police Chief
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
  • Location: College of Law, Room 114