CINCINNATI — Cincinnati city leaders held a news conference Tuesday to introduce Teresa Theetge as the new police chief. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cincinnati's newest police chief is Teresa Theetge

  • Theetge is the first woman to fill this role in Cincinnati

  • A special event was held on Tuesday to honor her

  • One of the biggest issues she's tackling as chief is recruitment of qualified officers

It was a proud moment for her, becoming the first woman to fill this position.

“I hope what it tells everybody is that if you are a minority, whatever category of minority you may be in, that if you work hard, put everything you got into it, you will get a reward," said Theetge. 

Theetge is a 30-year-veteran with the Cincinnati Police Department. She knows firsthand the challenges they face, one of which is finding qualified candidates to fill empty positions. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said his staff is on board to help. 

“Everything she has asked for as it relates to recruiting, as it relates to the resources needed to deal with the gun violence this counsel and I have been incredibly supportive,” said Pureval.

And one way they're dealing with both violence and staffing issues is through technology.

“ShotSpotter has been a valuable tool to us in our strategy with gun violence reduction so we will keep all our plans in place and we’re always looking at new technology,” said Theetge.

In the meantime, Theetge said she’ll work with officers to make sure they've got what they need, both from a resource standpoint, as well as support. She also pledged to maintain a good relationship with the Fraternal Order of Police and the Sentinel Police Association.

“At the end of the day we all want the same things — we want good working environments, good wages, good officers who are treated fair and consistent so I look forward to working with both entities on those topics,” she said.