THE SENTINEL POLICE ASSOCIATION "FOREVER VIGILANT - FOREVER STRONG" 1889 CENTRAL PARKWAY CINCINNATI, OHIO 45214 oT PHONE (513) 651-3507- FAX (513) 651-3710 Joniciintiorie® FOR MEDIA RELEASE **** 8888888 On Friday December 23", 2016 the contents of an Email correspondence between City of Cinein nati Mayor, John Cranley and Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel were made public in a newspaper article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. In that ail it was stated by Mayor Cranley, “Sentinels [Police Association] defended us and controversy died in 48 hours. In my opinion we survived this decision because of [the] reservoir of respect for black [Black] cops by the community. If they say certain reforms are needed, not a badground to stand on.” First and foremost, allow me to be clear in stating the Sentinel Police Association categorically denies partaking of any role, possessing any prior knowledge, or standing in support of any government entity, elected official, or individual a year ago during the dismissal of former City of Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell. Furthermore, the Sentinel Police Association vehemently rejects the assertion of Mayor Cranley in his Email alleging the Sentinel Police Association defended his decision to dismiss former Chief Blackwell. Additionally, we reject the alleged notion of the Sentinels presenting or suggesting any, “reforms” relating or pertaining to former Chief Blackwell. We condemn Mayor Canley’s statements to be factually inaccurate and in essence his statements could not be further from the truth, The reality was and still exists that the antithesis of the sentiment conveyed by Mayor Cranley in his above referencedTHE SENTINEL POLICE ASSOCIATION "FOREVER VIGILANT - FOREVER STRONG" 1889 CENTRAL PARKWAY CINCINNATI, OHIO 45214 La 2 ie PHONE (513) 651-3507- FAX (513) 651-3710 correspondence is the truth. The Sentinels were in full support of former Chief Blackwell at the time of his dismissal. At no time did the Sentinels indicate to Mayor Cranley th at he had the support of the Organization in supporting the dismissal of former Chief Blackwell. On June 3", 2015 approximately three months before former Chief Blackwell was dismissed, the Sentinels held an emergency general body meeting. During that meeting ‘our members voted on a motion to stand in 100% support of former Police Chief Blackwell who at the time was under tremendous scrutiny from City Hall. Immediately followin g the vote, a press conference was held and the outcome of that unanimous vote was announced to the media and the public. At no time after voting to stand behind former Chief Blackwell did the Sentinels ever have any subsequent meeting or formally make any countermotion to collectively revoke the Organization's support of him. Past Sentinel President Phill Black, who was the President at the time of former Chief Blackwell’s dismissal, has also gone on record publicly denying any organizational involvement or prior knowledge of the Sentinels surrounding the dismissal of former Chief Blackwell As the current Sentinel Police Association President, I would like to further clarify that although all members of our organization enjoy the same First Amendment freedom as any other American citizen; freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, the right to petition the government, freedom of the press, as well as the freedom of speech, the views and expression of personal opinion(s) of any individual member cannot and should not beTHE SENTINEL POLICE ASSOCIATION "POREVER VIGILANT - FOREVER STRONG" 1889 CENTRAL PARKWAY CINCINNATI, OHIO 45214 — PHONE (513) 651-3507: FAX (513) 651-3710 construed as being representative of the Organization in aggregate. Although it is certainly possible, perhaps even probable certain individual Sentinel and Fraternal Order of Police members may have possessed prior knowledge of the impending dismissal of former Chief Blackwell due to existing personal relationships with Mayor Cranley and/or others at City Hall, the fact remains neither Mayor Cranley nor City Manager Harry Black formally notified or consulted with the Sentinel Police Association's elected Executive Leadership Board prior to the dismissal. Undoubtedly, a decision of that magnitude to reverse a prior motion which had been voted upon and passed unanimously by our membership to support former Chief Blackwell would require considerably more approval than that of any one Sentinel member to legitimately suggest the decision to revoke our support was a decision, the organization's “collective membership” was in support of. In juxtaposition, individual members who choose to either endorse or personally disavow a political issue, ideology, or an individual, for the purpose of their own interests and self-aggrandizement represent themselves solely for motivations which could be interpreted as arbitrary in nature and do not serve to further our mission or the founding tenets of the Sentinel Police Association. The Sentinel Police Association is neither the embodiment of any one man or woman past or present, nor is it the Unilateral view point of any one man or woman.THE SENTINEL POLICE ASSOCIATION "FOREVER VIGILANT - FOREVER STRONG" 1889 CENTRAL PARKWAY CINCINNATI, OHIO 45214 agen PHONE (513) 651-3507- FAX (513) 651-3710 Itis rather a united voice of minority Cincinnati Police men and women who make decisions in tandem with one another with the objective always being to seek what is ‘most beneficial and of paramount importance to the proliferation of the group holistically as ‘opposed to the arbitrary interests of a solitary member. Lastly, itis well documented within the by-laws of the Sentinel Police Association that the Organization is strictly prohibited from becoming entangled to any degree in political gamesmanship whether formally or informally, explicitly or Implicitly. It is our opinion that at the time of his dismissal former Chief Blackwell was an asset to the Cincinnati Police Department and to the citizens of Cincinnati and his dismissal was both unprecedented and unwarranted, ao —=ST—~—~OCS~SN Eddie D. Hawkins President Sentinel Police Association