October 14, 2025 • 18 mins
Willie talks with WLWT's Sheree Paolello about the shootings downtown last night, and if the current administration at city hall plans to actually do something about the violence.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Billy cunning him the Great America. Welcome this Tuesday afternon
the tri State. Great things are going on, I hope,
and I've done some copious research. When the Bengals went
to the Super Bowl at the nine games, they were
five and four, went to the Super Bowl. Right now
they're two and four. But if and when they beat
the Steelers on Thursday, there's three and four, then at
home against the Jester, four and four. Then the Bears
(00:26):
at home they're five and four with Joe Flacco leading
their way with Ted McKay. So if the Bengals are
five and four, they're going to the super Bowl because
the Bills aren't that good and Kansas City can be beaten,
I think. But until then, we have major problems in
River City. And once again there's massive shootouts on Fountain
Square headline on Channel five last night. Five people shot
(00:47):
in less than eight hours across Cincinnati Hamilton County, and
of course Shari Poelo had the story with the Power
of five and Shari Poelo, welcome again to the Bill
cunning Ham Show. And first of all, Shari, I want
to ask you some fundamental questions. Are you prepared for
some questions I think so ten or fifteen years ago,
you might recall memories go back that long that my
(01:10):
wife was on common Police Court bench, and she would
receive messages at eight o'clock emails from the Sheriff's office
saying we're accepting no prisoners today, and every Common Police
Court judgementsipal court judge in Hemlin County would get an
eight o'clock wake up call saying, don't sentence anybody to
the jail were packed, And so the next day the
same thing would go on. The next day, the same
thing would go on. And so side Lease and Joe
(01:32):
Deeters put together a proposal for the voters to decide
whether to build a second Hamley County jail to put
another thousand beds in Hamilton County because of the criminal
activity that was going on, and it was voted down
fifty three to forty seven. The people said, we don't
want to, we don't want to spend I don't know it
was like eighty million dollars to build a second Hemlic
County jail. So the resolution to that was quite arresting.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
People.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Here we are ten to fifteen years later, and guess what.
According to Judge Josh Berklewitz, the presiding judge and heimin
County Municipal Court. There's four hundred empty beds in the
Hammer County jail as I speak, four hundred beds are empty.
So you can only imagine if we would have built
another thousand beds somewhere in Queen's Gate, we'd have fourteen
hundred empty beds. Now, the question is this, is there's
(02:15):
so little crime in the city of Cincinnati happening now
that all of a sudden the criminal element, which ages
out about the age of thirty, have quit committing crimes.
That somehow there's not shootouts, somehow there's not car breakings,
somehow there's not warns out for arrest. Suddenly, all of
a sudden, forty percent of the so called criminal populace,
whoever they are, have quit committing crimes. Or is it
(02:36):
a case of city police not arresting judges, no cash bonds,
and a permissive restorative justice attitude. What justus shar Pauelo
as all of a sudden we're now crime free in Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Is that what's going on? Sadly, I think you and
I both know the answer that, and I remember what
you're talking about. I remember sitting in and interviewing Siwees
about this issue in him wanting to build another jail,
and of course that's not popular and glamorous. Nobody wants
to spend you know, city and county dollars on that.
But of course that's not the case. And we're seeing
(03:10):
it night in and night out. You know, I definitely
think it's unfortunately become and we hear it all the time,
a revolving door where you get these people who many
of them, I can't tell you how many times, even
the victims who we put on the news who are
shot and killed typically or stabbed to death, the victims
(03:32):
pictures that we get are munth shots because they oftentimes
are involved in criminal activity. And so unfortunately, again we
talk about, well, okay, do we need more police officers,
do we need the state to help to help out?
Let me let me just for the people who don't
follow this as closely as you do, and I do really,
let me just take people back in the last week,
(03:53):
six days ago, so a week ago today, we had
a guy shot in the finger of the hand. He
was in a car, got in some sort of argument.
He was shot right near Fountain Square, right there at Walnut.
This is during rush hour. People were literally running because
they're leaving work, walking around Fountain Square hearing gunshots and
(04:14):
they're running to their cars or running back into work.
Here we are a week later, last night, seven point
thirty city Bird Fountain Square again, before the sun goes down.
It is packed. There are people in restaurants. This is
literally right across the street from Jeff Rubies, right next
door to other restaurants that are filled with people getting
something to eat. And these guys again, let's see a
(04:36):
sixteen to seventeen year old grazed by a bullet at
an adult shot in the thigh. Two people we know
are in custody. But let me just tell you there
were two officers nearby on Fountain Square. There were two
excuse me, there were two on Fountain Square, two more
nearby and other officers at Government Square. So to sit
there last night and say, well where are the police, Well,
the police were there. They responded immediately. In fact, thank
(04:59):
goodness they were there because they were able to track
down two people who they think were involved in are
now in custody. But that's just last night. One incident.
We had a shooting in Westwood. An hour earlier, one
person died. Still waiting on the information about the victims specifically,
right now they're searching for a car that they think
is connected to Blue Tesla. Then they're late. Last night
(05:21):
West End, eleven year old young guy shot in the
leg at an apartment ends up running to a fire
station for help. Overnight, we have a guy arrives at
Mercy Health along Queen City. He was shot, expected to survive. So,
just as you said in the last in eight hours
across Hamilton County we had five people shot. Two of
them if you count the one grade was at Fountain Square.
(05:44):
But then we had the same thing happened nearby at
Fountain Square a week earlier. The chief is out there
last night. She's, of course saying all of the right things.
We can't tolerate this. We've got a statement from the mayor.
I mean, but again, here's what it is, Lilli, and you,
I think hit the nail on the head. There has
to be more of a deterrent. It's like when you
(06:05):
parent kids. And I remember years ago when I had
one of my boys was kind of hanging with the
wrong crowd, and you know, I would say, if you
get in trouble. You're you know, if you do this,
you're going to get in trouble. If you do this,
you're going to get in trouble. And I wasn't really
following through. And then finally I dropped the hammer, right.
I called every parent who I thought their kid was
(06:25):
involved and said, listen, this happened on my watch. It's
my son's, you know, responsibility, it's my responsibility. Guess what.
All of his friends were suddenly mad at him, alienated him.
We never had a problem again. But leading up to it,
I was being soft. I didn't want him to you know,
I didn't want his friends to be mad at him.
I didn't want to be the bad guy, right, And
(06:47):
I liken it to what we're seeing right now. If
right now, by the way, and I don't know if
you've talked about this on your show. Back in I
think it was May the House passed a Repeat Offender Act.
It specifically in Ohio, targets people with prior violent felonies.
It would increase prison term for any violent offender who
(07:08):
has a gun after some sort of previous felony conviction. Well,
where is it. It's sitting in the Senate right now.
I mean that those are the people that you have
to send a message. Even if you are involved in
a violent crime that involves a gun, you're going to
go to prison. You're not going to sit in the
Hamilton County jail for one hundred and I don't know
(07:28):
eighty days, whatever it is, because right now, these gun
offenses varied depending on you know, your criminal history and
the offense, and they can range anywhere from a misdemeanor
to a felony. So that's the problem. I mean, we
unfortunately have people who continue to commit crimes, who are
back out on the street immediately.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
In fact, the chiefs of police in Hamilty County got
together about a month ago and said, we can't stand
this anymore because we send people down in the justice center,
they're out on no cash bonds, they're out committing more crimes.
Before the paperwork is done, the criminal is out. Secondly,
the mayor about a month ago had a big powwow
with the governor and the FBI. The CIA was there,
the ATF, the US Marshal Service, Prosecutor's Office, sheriff for
(08:11):
everybody was there. We're going to bring in bringing the
adults to help us so that we have availability of
our cops to do more serious policing. And immediately Mayor
iris Roli said that's not going to fly. She wasn't
present for it, Scottie Johnson wasn't present for it. Lemon
Kearney wasn't present for it, and they quickly told the
mayor this is not gonna fly. In fact, lemon Kearney
(08:33):
the vice mayor held news conferences saying we don't need
these people here. And so the highway Patrol, being here
with all the state resources, was told not to come.
The agreement says two ships a month, and ken Kober
says they haven't arrived yet because the mayor's not calling
them and Mayor iris Roly doesn't want it. And so
when there's no recognition that we don't need outside help,
(08:53):
we got this, When they don't have this, where do
you go with that?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Well, exactly, and honestly, that was a huge dog and
povie show. I think we all were like, Okay, this
is showing some sort of improvement. We're all going to
work together, We're going to get this help. We're going
to be partnering up with with the FEDS, with our
UH with with marshals hopefully. They were saying they were
going to be apprehending violent offenders, were talking about people
who are violating role post release, they're going to be
(09:22):
you know, watching by air aerial supervision. But to be
honest with you, Willie, then I heard when I looked
closer at the agreement and we saw, oh what would
be it said quote no more than two times a month.
And as you said, I haven't heard of one time
us working with them. And we had this huge news
conference where it all you know, I mean, the news
(09:42):
conference went on for well over an hour. It was,
you know, everybody and their brother was there talking about this,
how we're going to be walking together, working together. I've
yet to hear anything about that. And again, but if
you do that, the whole point of that was, Okay,
if we bring in the FED, if we actually start
charging some of these repeat offenders with federal charges instead
(10:03):
of just state and local charges, then we're really going
to lock them up and send them to prison. But
guess what, Really, this is such a broader issue. I've
done so many stories on even our prisons releasing these
violent by I'm talking murderers and repeat offenders, violent offenders.
We get money if we keep people here locally, so
(10:25):
if we don't send him to the state prison. I mean,
it's such a cycle, an endless cycle that we're not addressing.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Well, it's not only the mayor not having sufficient police resources.
It's not only the mayor not accepting state help. Not
only the mayor, the whole system. I'll look at Patrick
Herringer and what they did with that to with Mordecai
Black is that he was released and then he butchers
Patrick Herringer and Sarah is now and then Sarah was
arrested for eight hours. I still have an explanation. How
(10:54):
you arrest Sarah Herringer, put her in handcuffs leader outside
the bloody or home of our bloody's husband. Body is
lying in locker up for eight hours. I have no idea.
And then common police court judges collapse, the probation system
in the outside of the City of Cincinnati collapse that system.
It's not just the mayor. Aft have pureval or, Mayor
(11:15):
Irish Rolli, whoever's in charge. It's the idea that Judge
Kerry Bloom and Juvenile Court so far this year has
bound over one felony. Is there sixteen and seventeen year
old gang bangers with guns, hurting people, shooting people. One
time has gone to common police court. It used to
be a pipeline. If you use a gun and you're
sixteen or seventeen, adult crime, adult crime. That problem needs
(11:38):
to be fixed. And we have an election coming up
in three weeks. I'd be shocked. I'd be shocked if
the voters of Cincinnati said we can't take it anymore.
And then you live in the Mason area. I see
Procter and Gamble without making an announcement. Their employees are
telling P and G, we don't want to come downtown,
and so they're building a huge facility expanding it in Mason,
(12:00):
and they're telling employees, if you want to work from home,
you're going to work from home because when you get
out of work, you might be shot. And so incrementally,
slowly downtown's going to hollow out. Does that concern you?
Macy's is gone, They have apartments down there now. PNG
would be a great apartment building complex. PNG Corporate America
is deciding not to issue a press release that's bad
(12:23):
for business. But quietly they're going to incrementally take jobs
away and I.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Think unfortunately a lot of people they don't want to
hear it in many of our leaders and who are
trying to do great work down there with the Chamber.
I mean, look, we're building a brand new convention center
where we're trying we're going to tell the country, hey,
come here, hold your convention here. Well, if you can't
go and get food downtown, if you can't walk to
get a coffee and leave your hotel, and feel like,
(12:51):
it's not going to be like it is in Chicago
and other cities where you're afraid people aren't going to
want to come here. And I've said that to so
many of the leaders who talk to me and are like,
SHREI are you really afraid. Here's the truth. I will
absolutely go down on a Sunday morning for a Bengals game.
Of course I'm going to go to a red Skin.
But I go down and I get out. I truly
(13:14):
don't go down and go out on a Friday or
Saturday night. I literally went down two weeks ago. My
son goes to you, I've told you, goes to the
University of Cincinnati. My older son and he it was
parents weekend and some of the parents wanted to get
together in OTR. I'm not kidding you, And I said,
I was scared to death to park and walk, you know,
(13:35):
one hundred feet to the bar. And I was, and
I was even with Mike because I could just you know,
you're you're kind of seeing, you know, people around that
aren't going into the restaurants or the bars. They're just
kind of wandering along the street. And you feel like
it's only it's not if, but when you're going to
be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And
(13:55):
that's the reality. When you have five people shot in
a matter of eight hours in the heart of our
city and around our city, why would you want to
take that chance? And here's the reality. Yes, the reality
is most of these victims and the suspects are involved
in criminal activity. But the truth is that sometimes when
(14:18):
it's happening at Fountain Square in places when innocent people
can take a stray bullet. We've seen it happen innocent
kids who are playing in parks, and we have these
drive by shooting that happened all summer long. I mean,
it is absolutely heartbreaking to me as somebody who loves
this city and is so proud of the Queen City.
And I've said this before Willie. Twenty three years ago
(14:40):
when I came from Charlotte. I remember my police officer
friends saying to me, why in the world would you
want to live in Cincinnati. And we really created change here,
and unfortunately it feels like we're going backwards. We have
to be tough, and I think every parent who loses
a child, even if their child is in their twenties
and involved in crime, they too want to see changed.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, one thing I've noticed, the convention Center is
opening up. I think at the end of the year.
I think December or January. I might be wrong, but
in the next few months, have you seen the hotel
come out of the ground. The answer is no, and
the reason is Marriott is going to operate it, but
the powers that be three c DC and others have
(15:27):
to build it and it's not coming out of the
ground because they cannot get financing. Now can you imagine
that hotel should be coming out of the ground now,
so when the convention center is open, that the conventionaires
can go into the hotel and guess what, have a
great time. But at this point, as of a week ago,
I was told by a rather prominent Cincinnatian that they
(15:49):
cannot get financing, and they can't get financing because the
banks don't want to do it, and so they want
power brokers in town to guarantee the loan in case
the events continue. By the way, the event on July
twenty sixth happened right at the doorstep of the convention center. Uh.
And and it's it's it's there's a story there as
(16:09):
to why is the hotel not coming out of the ground,
And the answer is because they can't get financing. Why
can't they get financing? Well, there's concern now if that
happens and we have this great convention center and two
of two big conventions have already canceled because the hotel
is not available. That hotel is going to take what
two years to build? And uh, that's a problem. Is
(16:31):
that a problem? That is a huge problem. And the
problem there's a story. Find out why the convention center
hotel is not being built. And right now it's a
it's a dirt parking lot. And they wanted to start
this thing a year ago when the convention center is
being built. But the chamber and others are trying to
get financing. They can't get financing. Now that's a problem.
(16:56):
So I don't know, Cherie. We've laid upon the table
some necessary information is up to the powers that be
to correct this thing and do something in the city.
But right now the mayor's gone from this is wrong
to this is unacceptable. Now it's intolerable. We're gone from
wrong unacceptable now intolerable. What's the next five syllables? Get
(17:18):
the the sarcees out and find out what the hell's next.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Well, something has to be done, and you can't keep saying, okay,
put more officers on the streets. Well again, I would
argue that last night it appears as if your officers
right there. But when when people think the answer is
pulling out a gun, I mean we see it time
in and time out. That's the problem. If you're not
afraid that if oh my god, I get caught shooting someone,
(17:46):
I'm going to be locked up for years.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Not happy.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
You're gonna take your chances not having starts so young.
We see teenagers, I mean, twelve, thirteen, fourteen year olds,
and I always go back to what one since officer
told me last year, He's like, Sree, your definition of
a kid and my definition of a kids are very different.
You know, getting trained young.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Young and because they know the juvenile court system here
will not lock them up. Shury up against the clock,
you know, and that works. But try to find out
what happened to the hotel, this beautiful hotel next to
the convention center. That is that is that is nothing,
and we got to run. SERI get my best to
all the folks.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Calvert, now call her.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Find out all right, thank you, thank you, Sari Pilloa,
thank you. Up against the clock. But River City, we
got a major problem. Seven hundred ww
Billy cunning him the Great America. Welcome this Tuesday afternon
the tri State. Great things are going on, I hope,
and I've done some copious research. When the Bengals went
to the Super Bowl at the nine games, they were
five and four, went to the Super Bowl. Right now
they're two and four. But if and when they beat
the Steelers on Thursday, there's three and four, then at
home against the Jester, four and four. Then the Bears
(00:26):
at home they're five and four with Joe Flacco leading
their way with Ted McKay. So if the Bengals are
five and four, they're going to the super Bowl because
the Bills aren't that good and Kansas City can be beaten,
I think. But until then, we have major problems in
River City. And once again there's massive shootouts on Fountain
Square headline on Channel five last night. Five people shot
(00:47):
in less than eight hours across Cincinnati Hamilton County, and
of course Shari Poelo had the story with the Power
of five and Shari Poelo, welcome again to the Bill
cunning Ham Show. And first of all, Shari, I want
to ask you some fundamental questions. Are you prepared for
some questions I think so ten or fifteen years ago,
you might recall memories go back that long that my
(01:10):
wife was on common Police Court bench, and she would
receive messages at eight o'clock emails from the Sheriff's office
saying we're accepting no prisoners today, and every Common Police
Court judgementsipal court judge in Hemlin County would get an
eight o'clock wake up call saying, don't sentence anybody to
the jail were packed, And so the next day the
same thing would go on. The next day, the same
thing would go on. And so side Lease and Joe
(01:32):
Deeters put together a proposal for the voters to decide
whether to build a second Hamley County jail to put
another thousand beds in Hamilton County because of the criminal
activity that was going on, and it was voted down
fifty three to forty seven. The people said, we don't
want to, we don't want to spend I don't know it
was like eighty million dollars to build a second Hemlic
County jail. So the resolution to that was quite arresting.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
People.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Here we are ten to fifteen years later, and guess what.
According to Judge Josh Berklewitz, the presiding judge and heimin
County Municipal Court. There's four hundred empty beds in the
Hammer County jail as I speak, four hundred beds are empty.
So you can only imagine if we would have built
another thousand beds somewhere in Queen's Gate, we'd have fourteen
hundred empty beds. Now, the question is this, is there's
(02:15):
so little crime in the city of Cincinnati happening now
that all of a sudden the criminal element, which ages
out about the age of thirty, have quit committing crimes.
That somehow there's not shootouts, somehow there's not car breakings,
somehow there's not warns out for arrest. Suddenly, all of
a sudden, forty percent of the so called criminal populace,
whoever they are, have quit committing crimes. Or is it
(02:36):
a case of city police not arresting judges, no cash bonds,
and a permissive restorative justice attitude. What justus shar Pauelo
as all of a sudden we're now crime free in Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Is that what's going on? Sadly, I think you and
I both know the answer that, and I remember what
you're talking about. I remember sitting in and interviewing Siwees
about this issue in him wanting to build another jail,
and of course that's not popular and glamorous. Nobody wants
to spend you know, city and county dollars on that.
But of course that's not the case. And we're seeing
(03:10):
it night in and night out. You know, I definitely
think it's unfortunately become and we hear it all the time,
a revolving door where you get these people who many
of them, I can't tell you how many times, even
the victims who we put on the news who are
shot and killed typically or stabbed to death, the victims
(03:32):
pictures that we get are munth shots because they oftentimes
are involved in criminal activity. And so unfortunately, again we
talk about, well, okay, do we need more police officers,
do we need the state to help to help out?
Let me let me just for the people who don't
follow this as closely as you do, and I do really,
let me just take people back in the last week,
(03:53):
six days ago, so a week ago today, we had
a guy shot in the finger of the hand. He
was in a car, got in some sort of argument.
He was shot right near Fountain Square, right there at Walnut.
This is during rush hour. People were literally running because
they're leaving work, walking around Fountain Square hearing gunshots and
(04:14):
they're running to their cars or running back into work.
Here we are a week later, last night, seven point
thirty city Bird Fountain Square again, before the sun goes down.
It is packed. There are people in restaurants. This is
literally right across the street from Jeff Rubies, right next
door to other restaurants that are filled with people getting
something to eat. And these guys again, let's see a
(04:36):
sixteen to seventeen year old grazed by a bullet at
an adult shot in the thigh. Two people we know
are in custody. But let me just tell you there
were two officers nearby on Fountain Square. There were two
excuse me, there were two on Fountain Square, two more
nearby and other officers at Government Square. So to sit
there last night and say, well where are the police, Well,
the police were there. They responded immediately. In fact, thank
(04:59):
goodness they were there because they were able to track
down two people who they think were involved in are
now in custody. But that's just last night. One incident.
We had a shooting in Westwood. An hour earlier, one
person died. Still waiting on the information about the victims specifically,
right now they're searching for a car that they think
is connected to Blue Tesla. Then they're late. Last night
(05:21):
West End, eleven year old young guy shot in the
leg at an apartment ends up running to a fire
station for help. Overnight, we have a guy arrives at
Mercy Health along Queen City. He was shot, expected to survive. So,
just as you said in the last in eight hours
across Hamilton County we had five people shot. Two of
them if you count the one grade was at Fountain Square.
(05:44):
But then we had the same thing happened nearby at
Fountain Square a week earlier. The chief is out there
last night. She's, of course saying all of the right things.
We can't tolerate this. We've got a statement from the mayor.
I mean, but again, here's what it is, Lilli, and you,
I think hit the nail on the head. There has
to be more of a deterrent. It's like when you
(06:05):
parent kids. And I remember years ago when I had
one of my boys was kind of hanging with the
wrong crowd, and you know, I would say, if you
get in trouble. You're you know, if you do this,
you're going to get in trouble. If you do this,
you're going to get in trouble. And I wasn't really
following through. And then finally I dropped the hammer, right.
I called every parent who I thought their kid was
(06:25):
involved and said, listen, this happened on my watch. It's
my son's, you know, responsibility, it's my responsibility. Guess what.
All of his friends were suddenly mad at him, alienated him.
We never had a problem again. But leading up to it,
I was being soft. I didn't want him to you know,
I didn't want his friends to be mad at him.
I didn't want to be the bad guy, right, And
(06:47):
I liken it to what we're seeing right now. If
right now, by the way, and I don't know if
you've talked about this on your show. Back in I
think it was May the House passed a Repeat Offender Act.
It specifically in Ohio, targets people with prior violent felonies.
It would increase prison term for any violent offender who
(07:08):
has a gun after some sort of previous felony conviction. Well,
where is it. It's sitting in the Senate right now.
I mean that those are the people that you have
to send a message. Even if you are involved in
a violent crime that involves a gun, you're going to
go to prison. You're not going to sit in the
Hamilton County jail for one hundred and I don't know
(07:28):
eighty days, whatever it is, because right now, these gun
offenses varied depending on you know, your criminal history and
the offense, and they can range anywhere from a misdemeanor
to a felony. So that's the problem. I mean, we
unfortunately have people who continue to commit crimes, who are
back out on the street immediately.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
In fact, the chiefs of police in Hamilty County got
together about a month ago and said, we can't stand
this anymore because we send people down in the justice center,
they're out on no cash bonds, they're out committing more crimes.
Before the paperwork is done, the criminal is out. Secondly,
the mayor about a month ago had a big powwow
with the governor and the FBI. The CIA was there,
the ATF, the US Marshal Service, Prosecutor's Office, sheriff for
(08:11):
everybody was there. We're going to bring in bringing the
adults to help us so that we have availability of
our cops to do more serious policing. And immediately Mayor
iris Roli said that's not going to fly. She wasn't
present for it, Scottie Johnson wasn't present for it. Lemon
Kearney wasn't present for it, and they quickly told the
mayor this is not gonna fly. In fact, lemon Kearney
(08:33):
the vice mayor held news conferences saying we don't need
these people here. And so the highway Patrol, being here
with all the state resources, was told not to come.
The agreement says two ships a month, and ken Kober
says they haven't arrived yet because the mayor's not calling
them and Mayor iris Roly doesn't want it. And so
when there's no recognition that we don't need outside help,
(08:53):
we got this, When they don't have this, where do
you go with that?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Well, exactly, and honestly, that was a huge dog and
povie show. I think we all were like, Okay, this
is showing some sort of improvement. We're all going to
work together, We're going to get this help. We're going
to be partnering up with with the FEDS, with our
UH with with marshals hopefully. They were saying they were
going to be apprehending violent offenders, were talking about people
who are violating role post release, they're going to be
(09:22):
you know, watching by air aerial supervision. But to be
honest with you, Willie, then I heard when I looked
closer at the agreement and we saw, oh what would
be it said quote no more than two times a month.
And as you said, I haven't heard of one time
us working with them. And we had this huge news
conference where it all you know, I mean, the news
(09:42):
conference went on for well over an hour. It was,
you know, everybody and their brother was there talking about this,
how we're going to be walking together, working together. I've
yet to hear anything about that. And again, but if
you do that, the whole point of that was, Okay,
if we bring in the FED, if we actually start
charging some of these repeat offenders with federal charges instead
(10:03):
of just state and local charges, then we're really going
to lock them up and send them to prison. But
guess what, Really, this is such a broader issue. I've
done so many stories on even our prisons releasing these
violent by I'm talking murderers and repeat offenders, violent offenders.
We get money if we keep people here locally, so
(10:25):
if we don't send him to the state prison. I mean,
it's such a cycle, an endless cycle that we're not addressing.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Well, it's not only the mayor not having sufficient police resources.
It's not only the mayor not accepting state help. Not
only the mayor, the whole system. I'll look at Patrick
Herringer and what they did with that to with Mordecai
Black is that he was released and then he butchers
Patrick Herringer and Sarah is now and then Sarah was
arrested for eight hours. I still have an explanation. How
(10:54):
you arrest Sarah Herringer, put her in handcuffs leader outside
the bloody or home of our bloody's husband. Body is
lying in locker up for eight hours. I have no idea.
And then common police court judges collapse, the probation system
in the outside of the City of Cincinnati collapse that system.
It's not just the mayor. Aft have pureval or, Mayor
(11:15):
Irish Rolli, whoever's in charge. It's the idea that Judge
Kerry Bloom and Juvenile Court so far this year has
bound over one felony. Is there sixteen and seventeen year
old gang bangers with guns, hurting people, shooting people. One
time has gone to common police court. It used to
be a pipeline. If you use a gun and you're
sixteen or seventeen, adult crime, adult crime. That problem needs
(11:38):
to be fixed. And we have an election coming up
in three weeks. I'd be shocked. I'd be shocked if
the voters of Cincinnati said we can't take it anymore.
And then you live in the Mason area. I see
Procter and Gamble without making an announcement. Their employees are
telling P and G, we don't want to come downtown,
and so they're building a huge facility expanding it in Mason,
(12:00):
and they're telling employees, if you want to work from home,
you're going to work from home because when you get
out of work, you might be shot. And so incrementally,
slowly downtown's going to hollow out. Does that concern you?
Macy's is gone, They have apartments down there now. PNG
would be a great apartment building complex. PNG Corporate America
is deciding not to issue a press release that's bad
(12:23):
for business. But quietly they're going to incrementally take jobs
away and I.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Think unfortunately a lot of people they don't want to
hear it in many of our leaders and who are
trying to do great work down there with the Chamber.
I mean, look, we're building a brand new convention center
where we're trying we're going to tell the country, hey,
come here, hold your convention here. Well, if you can't
go and get food downtown, if you can't walk to
get a coffee and leave your hotel, and feel like,
(12:51):
it's not going to be like it is in Chicago
and other cities where you're afraid people aren't going to
want to come here. And I've said that to so
many of the leaders who talk to me and are like,
SHREI are you really afraid. Here's the truth. I will
absolutely go down on a Sunday morning for a Bengals game.
Of course I'm going to go to a red Skin.
But I go down and I get out. I truly
(13:14):
don't go down and go out on a Friday or
Saturday night. I literally went down two weeks ago. My
son goes to you, I've told you, goes to the
University of Cincinnati. My older son and he it was
parents weekend and some of the parents wanted to get
together in OTR. I'm not kidding you, And I said,
I was scared to death to park and walk, you know,
(13:35):
one hundred feet to the bar. And I was, and
I was even with Mike because I could just you know,
you're you're kind of seeing, you know, people around that
aren't going into the restaurants or the bars. They're just
kind of wandering along the street. And you feel like
it's only it's not if, but when you're going to
be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And
(13:55):
that's the reality. When you have five people shot in
a matter of eight hours in the heart of our
city and around our city, why would you want to
take that chance? And here's the reality. Yes, the reality
is most of these victims and the suspects are involved
in criminal activity. But the truth is that sometimes when
(14:18):
it's happening at Fountain Square in places when innocent people
can take a stray bullet. We've seen it happen innocent
kids who are playing in parks, and we have these
drive by shooting that happened all summer long. I mean,
it is absolutely heartbreaking to me as somebody who loves
this city and is so proud of the Queen City.
And I've said this before Willie. Twenty three years ago
(14:40):
when I came from Charlotte. I remember my police officer
friends saying to me, why in the world would you
want to live in Cincinnati. And we really created change here,
and unfortunately it feels like we're going backwards. We have
to be tough, and I think every parent who loses
a child, even if their child is in their twenties
and involved in crime, they too want to see changed.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, one thing I've noticed, the convention Center is
opening up. I think at the end of the year.
I think December or January. I might be wrong, but
in the next few months, have you seen the hotel
come out of the ground. The answer is no, and
the reason is Marriott is going to operate it, but
the powers that be three c DC and others have
(15:27):
to build it and it's not coming out of the
ground because they cannot get financing. Now can you imagine
that hotel should be coming out of the ground now,
so when the convention center is open, that the conventionaires
can go into the hotel and guess what, have a
great time. But at this point, as of a week ago,
I was told by a rather prominent Cincinnatian that they
(15:49):
cannot get financing, and they can't get financing because the
banks don't want to do it, and so they want
power brokers in town to guarantee the loan in case
the events continue. By the way, the event on July
twenty sixth happened right at the doorstep of the convention center. Uh.
And and it's it's it's there's a story there as
(16:09):
to why is the hotel not coming out of the ground,
And the answer is because they can't get financing. Why
can't they get financing? Well, there's concern now if that
happens and we have this great convention center and two
of two big conventions have already canceled because the hotel
is not available. That hotel is going to take what
two years to build? And uh, that's a problem. Is
(16:31):
that a problem? That is a huge problem. And the
problem there's a story. Find out why the convention center
hotel is not being built. And right now it's a
it's a dirt parking lot. And they wanted to start
this thing a year ago when the convention center is
being built. But the chamber and others are trying to
get financing. They can't get financing. Now that's a problem.
(16:56):
So I don't know, Cherie. We've laid upon the table
some necessary information is up to the powers that be
to correct this thing and do something in the city.
But right now the mayor's gone from this is wrong
to this is unacceptable. Now it's intolerable. We're gone from
wrong unacceptable now intolerable. What's the next five syllables? Get
(17:18):
the the sarcees out and find out what the hell's next.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Well, something has to be done, and you can't keep saying, okay,
put more officers on the streets. Well again, I would
argue that last night it appears as if your officers
right there. But when when people think the answer is
pulling out a gun, I mean we see it time
in and time out. That's the problem. If you're not
afraid that if oh my god, I get caught shooting someone,
(17:46):
I'm going to be locked up for years.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Not happy.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
You're gonna take your chances not having starts so young.
We see teenagers, I mean, twelve, thirteen, fourteen year olds,
and I always go back to what one since officer
told me last year, He's like, Sree, your definition of
a kid and my definition of a kids are very different.
You know, getting trained young.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Young and because they know the juvenile court system here
will not lock them up. Shury up against the clock,
you know, and that works. But try to find out
what happened to the hotel, this beautiful hotel next to
the convention center. That is that is that is nothing,
and we got to run. SERI get my best to
all the folks.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Calvert, now call her.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Find out all right, thank you, thank you, Sari Pilloa,
thank you. Up against the clock. But River City, we
got a major problem. Seven hundred ww
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