I work with a lot of "undesirables", most of whom I love. You may be surprised at how many patients we get who were bussed in from other cities. Quite frankly, working in Cincinnati, we get a bunch of patients from Kentucky who were told buy a local prominent hospital, that we give free health care here.

 

In truth, trying to shove problems elsewhere is not new. Sad, but not new.

 

Different ball game when we are talking about drug dealers, gangs and killers.

Different ball game when we are talking about drug dealers, gangs and killers.

 

I assure you, the people I am referring to have played in that ball field.

Edited May 30, 201511 yr by Beechwoodfan

I have zero problem with her statement. I work in that area and the surrounding neighborhoods, and I see just as many Ky plates on cars driving up and down the residential parts.

Don't have to bus these folks. They already travel back and forth a lot to "hide out".

 

Very true.

I was extremely disappointed to read that Captain Herald is a Dixie Heights High School graduate. You would think, given her familiarity with Northern KY (presumably), that she would be interested in working with the area to develop a solution rather than "pushing" crime into the surrounding areas.

 

I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt on this, but it's tough to do given her tone and the "you can quote me on that" bull.

 

It is my own personal opinion that this type of attitude is limiting the area. Cincinnati has made a lot of progress over the years, but a "Greater Cincinnati" development plan would take this area to the next level. Unfortunately, there is a major disconnect between Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky on basically every level, and it is frustrating. It's comments like this and the issues with the Brent Spence Bridge that exemplify this disconnect.

 

It's a wide, wide river.

Senator Wil Schroder responded to Captain Herald's comments. I'm a bit biased as I know him personally, but I think Wil has done a fine job during his short stint in Frankfort. Classy guy.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Senator Wil Schroder Addresses Controversial Comment by Cpt. Maris Herold

 

"I was disturbed, to say the least, reading the comments from Cincinnati police Captain Maris Herold on May 28. Capt. Herold was quoted by the Enquirer as saying, “Hopefully, we can push crime into Kentucky. I don’t care if you quote me at this point.” According to the Enquirer, the quote was a response to the uptick in violent crime in the city of Cincinnati.

 

As a former prosecutor, I am aware that the main supply of heroin for Northern Kentucky addicts comes from Cincinnati. So, to be clear, Northern Kentucky does not want, nor does it need any additional crime being imported from across the Ohio River.

 

Cincinnati is not only Northern Kentucky’s neighbor across a river, but it is our regional economic and cultural partner. We should be working together to eliminate violent crime in both communities, not to simply relocate where a crime takes place.

 

I have the utmost respect for the men and women who have taken an oath to protect us in law enforcement and understand their job often can be frustrating. I sincerely hope that Capt. Herold’s comment was made in the heat of that moment and was not a serious suggestion. I would like to make myself available to any member of the Cincinnati Police Department or any official from Cincinnati to discuss our shared problems to begin a healthy conversation on how to help improve the lives of everyone in our region."

The comment shows a lack of awareness or any sensitivity to surrounding communities.

 

But in theory she wasn't wrong. When Cincinnati makes a strong push with stings or to push crime out of problem areas it had to go somewhere. A lot of the time those same criminals go to Covington and Newport when there save havens in Buckeye land are compromised.

 

Short term fixes by the police but does nothing for long term solutions.

 

But to be fair when Newport and Covington do the same things the crime is pushed to Cincy. Those rough neighborhoods share a lot of similar people.

 

But it does not excuse poor leadership and statements.

From the "Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation's facebook page:

 

Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation 9 hrs ·

 

This afternoon, our community gathered in a show of support for our District 4 Captain, Captain Herold. Below is full statement read by Walnut Hills Area Council president, Kathryne Gardette.

 

‪#‎WeAreWalnutHills‬ and we will continue to stand behind Captain Herold.

 

Today, the Cincinnati Enquirer published an article about a comment that was made last night at a meeting of the Walnut Hills Safety Committee. The purpose of this committee is to take a proactive and collaborative approach to community policing in our neighborhood.

 

In light of recent events, the first half of the meeting was dedicated to an open dialogue between CPD and community members. Instead of writing about the upswell of interest of the residents in working side by side, neighbor to neighbor with the police officers to solve the problems of crime in our community, the Enquirer chose to sensationalize and divide. Instead of writing about all of the hands raised into the air to indicate interest in joining Citizen’s on Patrol, they chose to focus on a quick and innocuous comment. Captain Maris’ parting comments were that our best defense against crime in our neighborhood was for us to unite against it. She is just the person to help move us towards that goal.

 

Walnut Hills is privileged as a community to have a strong relationship with our neighborhood and district officers. If community policing strategies are going to be effective, we believe that both police and neighborhood residents must be able to have a forum where they can engage in honest and transparent exchange about how we all work together to improve the safety of our community.

 

One of the topics that was discussed in the meeting was the emerging mobile drug market, which often include cars with Kentucky Plates. Captain Herold’s comment was a light-hearted comment in regards to this very specific situation. Neither the Walnut Hills community nor CPD have any interest in pushing crime somewhere else. We believe it was clear to everyone that the meeting was about solving problems, not moving them.

 

Everyone except the representative from the Enquirer.

 

We are disappointed and disheartened that the Enquirer attended a meeting about unity, cooperation and partnership and chose to run an article intended to divide, create disharmony and stall productive conversations.

 

Captain Herold has been an incredible partner, resource and asset for our community. She is approachable, responsive and tireless in her dedication to her district and her job, and puts in long hours in order to support the community, as does the entire Cincinnati Police Department.