After Baton Rouge, 'extra precautions' for Cincinnati police

Early Sunday morning, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac told his officers to take off their mourning badges – badges with a black bar across the width of it.

The chief's radio call came just before news broke that three officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and another policeman was gunned down in Milwaukee.

Cincinnati police decided to continue to wear the mourning badges, as officers had done since five policemen were killed in Dallas on July 8. They're a stark reminder to Isaac that he can't keep his officers safe all the time.

"We're at a time when there are many perspectives," Isaac said. "There has been significant loss of life. The community is mourning the loss of individuals who died at the hands of police. But we're losing officers, too. Citizens are mourning both situations. I think that's important. It's not one or the other."

The chief, who's been in the top job since last September, is always thinking about his department. He knows his officers - and their families - worry.

"Who wouldn't feel unsafe?" said Eddie Hawkins, head of The Sentinels, a group of black Cincinnati officers dedicated to watching for unfair labor practices and unfair policing in the community. "You're damn right we feel unsafe."

Even before recent police-community tensions nationwide, the Cincinnati Police Department had a renewed focus on safety since Officer Sonny Kim was shot and killed in an ambush in June 2015.

Today, new equipment is coming, including the replacement of civil disturbance helmets, and officers are working in pairs. The two-officer patrols started after the Dallas officers were killed and will last indefinitely.

"When you have people ambushing officers, it is absolutely necessary to take extra precautions," Isaac said.

Cincinnati Police need more protection than that, union President Dan Hils said. He is calling for a full-time Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.

"If someone is bringing a method of war – which a sniper is – then at times we're going to be unprepared," Hils said.

For now, officers are focusing on encouraging each other to stay focused on serving and protecting the community. Isaac sent an email to his officers Sunday. It read in part:

"In light of the events across the country, I want to assure you your safety is of utmost importance.  The recent events across the country have local implications. As law enforcement officers, we must never become complacent.  We must always be aware of our surroundings, cover and support each other. I encourage you to rely on your training. Develop a plan before responding to calls for service, ensure you have enough personnel to respond safely, and be tactically sound in your approach.  Supervisors be vigilant in monitoring the radio, be aware of the needs of your personnel and when necessary intercede. Continue to act professionally, bravely and with the integrity that has made the Cincinnati Police Department the best in the country.  As always, you all are in my thoughts and prayers."

As a black chief, one who rose through the ranks of the Cincinnati Police Department and helped shape reforms after the city’s 2001 riots following the police shooting death of a young, black man, Isaac wears many hats.

“I know what it’s like to be an African American man, what it’s like to have negative experiences with police officers,” he said. “And I also know what like to be a police officer and the police chief.”

None of those experiences can be discounted, he said.

“We’re at a time when there are many perspectives,” Isaac said. The answer, he said, is to improve the profession through training. “We’ve made great strides, but there is still work to be done."

Councilman Christopher Smitherman, chairman of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee, said there is a level of anger in the black community over police-involved shootings. One happened a year ago, when University of Cincinnati Officer Raymond Tensing shot and killed unarmed driver Sam DuBose, who was stopped for lacking a front license plate. Tensing faces a murder charge and goes on trial this fall.

"Some of this is misinformation," Smitherman said. "There are police officers in our country who made bad decisions, but we can't take a broad brush and define all 600,000 officers in the country by the actions of a few. That narrative is over-played."

Cincinnati, he said, does it right.

"We've had police-involved shootings, but how the chief handles it is incredible," Smitherman said. "There is a level of transparency. These are things other communities made huge errors on."