CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati has narrowed the list of candidates for its next police chief down to four people. They include two high-ranking Cincinnati Police Department officers and two outside candidates with decades of experience. 

Now, the city is turning to the public to weigh on who they feel should serve as the next head of the city’s police department.

What You Need To Know

• The City of Cincinnati narrowed its list from 13 applicants for police chief down to four finalists 


• Two of the finalists are high-ranking Cincinnati Police Department officers, while the other two have decades of experience with outside agencies


• Residents will have two opportunities to ask questions of all four candidates before the city makes a selection

City Manager Sheryl Long announced the finalists on Friday. The group includes two longtime CPD veterans, interim Police Chief Teresa Theetge and Assistant Police Chief Lisa Davis. 

Theetge became interim chief in February following the retirement of former Chief Eliot Isaac. In doing so, she became the first female appointed CPD’s full-time chief or interim chief. In her 33 years with CPD, Theetge has worked on patrol and investigative assignments as well as inspections, audits and internal investigations, per her bio on the CPD website. She became an assistant chief in 2016 and got bumped to second-in-command in February 2020.

Davis has been with the department since 1992. She’s had assignments in four of the city’s five police districts, and worked with the Major Offenders Unit and Community Oriented Policing Unit, according to the city’s website. The United States Navy vet has been an assistant chief since February 2019.

Long also announced the selection of two outside candidates: Larry Boone and Todd Chamberlain.

Boone spent his entire law enforcement career — 1989 to 2022 — with the Norfolk (Va.) Police Department, according to his resume. He served as chief from December 2016 until retiring in May. 

Chamberlain spent  34 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, his application shows. He then served as chief of the Los Angeles School Police Department from 2019 to 2020 before going into public safety consulting.

There were 13 candidates considered as part of the selection process, according to city records.

Long, who’s been with the city in various capacities since April 2019, stressed in a written that she has “complete faith that the best person to fill the role of Cincinnati Police Chief is within this group of established, respected law enforcement members.”

“These finalists exemplify the qualities needed to lead our nationally recognized, innovative police department,” she continued. “Our city faces real challenges with police recruitment and retention. We need strong leadership and a chief with a deep understanding of the collaborative agreement and community problem-oriented policing.” 

As part of the final selection process, the city is hosting two upcoming community forums. The goal is to provide the public with an opportunity to interact with the candidates directly.

The events will take place Tuesday, Nov. 29 and Wednesday, Nov. 30 at Pleasant Ridge Recreation Center and Westwood Town Hall, respectively. Booth events will go from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Community members who attend the forums in person may submit written questions for each of the finalists. Each finalist will have 2 minutes to answer the question, per the city’s statement.

Those unable to attend in person can watch live on the city’s television network, CitiCable, as well as its Facebook page.

“City staff will be monitoring the Facebook Live feed and any questions submitted there,” Long said.

There is also an option to provide feedback following the community forums by using a QR code created by the city or by visiting the “Police Chief Search” website.

Long stressed that these finalists have already undergone “extensive internal interviews,” but she “(looks) forward to their interaction and response to the public at our community forums.”

The search for the city’s next police chief has been a topic of discussion even before Mayor Aftab Pureval and this city council assumed office in January. Isaac had made it known his intentions to retire last year.

Long sent a memo to the mayor and city council on Sept. 9 — roughly after eight days after she was sworn in as city manager — announcing the city contracted with CPS HR Consulting to perform a nationwide recruitment search to fill the police chief position.

That same month, the city published a public survey to get feedback on the search from residents and other stakeholders. The survey received 181 responses by the time it closed on Oct. 9.

On its website, the city states the selection process will remain open until Friday, Dec. 2. It lists the “negotiation and start date” window as Monday, Dec. 5 through Jan. 17.