CINCINNATI — An Ohio state senator says he helped pave the way for Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, who recently announced plans to retire. 

State Sen. Cecil Thomas has been representing the Cincinnati area for the last seven years, but long before that, he was a police officer for the Cincinnati Police Department.

He started in 1972 and patrolled the streets for 27 years. He trained up-and-coming officers, but he says he had no idea one of them would become a chief. 

“I knew Eliot was sharp, Eliot was motivated to do the right thing. He treated people the way he wanted to be treated if he got arrested. I taught him all those things,” said Thomas.

He says he trained Isaac in his early days, but it was during that time that he says a longtime problem on the force was about to hit a boiling point. 

“The stress and the tension between the African-American community and the police that we were on our way to violence if we don’t do something,” said Thomas.

That’s when Thomas put together a report filled with citizen complaints against police.

“In essence telling the Justice Department, 1999, that y’all better come in here and do something or we’re gonna have civil unrest,” said Thomas.

In 2001, that’s exactly what happened. 

There was civil unrest after a white police officer shot and killed a young Black man, Timothy Thomas, but an agreement came out of all that called the Collaborative Agreement.

“It was about how can other entities of the social service sector be of help in dealing with issues police often deal with,” said Thomas.

Thomas, the head of the Human Relations Commission back then, helped to work on the agreement between the police union and advocates. It called for police transparency, police reform and respect for the community they serve. With Isaac as the chief starting in 2015, he says he upheld what they’d been fighting for.

“Chief Isaac brought that greater appreciation of law enforcement, getting the community engaging them in a lot of the citizens' police academy, going to council meetings and answering questions and being very transparent,” said Thomas.

But he says there’s still more work to do. 

“By him retiring, it’s gonna be a great loss, unless we can find someone that can also continue that same method of culture,” said Thomas.

Isaac has not yet given the exact day when he’ll retire, but city leaders are already starting the search for a new chief. 

Cincinnati’s new mayor, Aftab Pureval, is conducting a nationwide search, but whoever takes Isaac’s spot will have some high standards to meet. 

On top of normal job requirements to qualify for the job, he says the city needs a chief who can continue to build up relationships in the community based on what the city and police department has already worked to do. 

“What we are looking for is a law enforcement professional who believes deeply in what we have created here, which is the national model, the Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement, who can continue to have the trust of the community, who can continue to have the trust of law enforcement professionals within the Cincinnati police department,” said Pureval.