Originally it was said to be a
lapse insurance which caused the shut down of both the Lincoln Heights fire
department and the police department Thursday at 12:00 am. The fire
department’s insurance was quickly reinstated however the police department is
proving to be quite the uninsurable risk.
“It was a yearly renewal,”
Lincoln Heights Village Manager Stephanie Summerow-Dumas said. “It was time for
a renewal and (PEP) made the decision (to cut coverage) because of certain
variables.”
According to PEP Executive Vice
President JT. Babish, these “variables” are lawsuits stemming from wage
disputes, employment harassment, wrongful terminations, allegations of wrongful
arrest and violations of civil rights within the departments.
Nine of these lawsuits are
currently ongoing which led to PEP dropping the coverage claiming that they
could not keep up with the cost of all the suits.
“Any company would look at that
and see if they want to be vulnerable to offer insurance,” Summerow-Dumas said.
“I’m sure that came into play and they looked at some of that.”
In the interim, nearby Lockland
Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office have taken over
emergency services for the town of Lincoln Heights.
Ohio Rep. Alicia Reese said she
contacted the governor asking for help, stating that, “Safety has to be the top
priority for the residents, both in the short and long term.” Ironically, had
safety actually been the priority of the police department, instead of felony
criminal action, abuse, sexual harassment, and brutality, Lincoln Heights would
not be in this position.
The closure of the Lincoln
Heights police department comes just days after a revealing investigation into
the overwhelming corruption within the department. The investigation revealed
that the department had not only hired, but heavily promoted an officer with a
felony background, who was later fired for felony theft on duty.
The investigation also found
that one officer was fired and rehired who had a history of harassing female
drivers and was an actual member of several biker gangs known for their
felonious activity.
The Public Entities Pool of
Ohio choosing to drop the Lincoln Heights police department’s coverage is
heartening news. Its illustrates the true power of taking responsibility for
one’s own actions and that writing corrupt departments a blank check to behave
however they want to, is a terrible practice.
While PEP is funded through tax
payer dollars it was still able to cause a drastic reaction to police
corruption.
