Cincinnati police chief to retire in 2022

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac will retire next year.

Isaac released the following statement on Monday:

“Right now, due to my tenure and how our retirement system works, I plan to retire sometime in the first quarter of 2022.”

Isaac began with the department in 1988.

He became a police captain in 2004 and ascended to district commander in 2007.

Isaac was appointed chief in 2015 by former City Manager Harry Black, replacing outgoing Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, whom Black fired.

Isaac presided over several years of declining gun violence in Cincinnati prior to the pandemic, when homicides and shootings spiked both locally and nationwide.

Homicides and shootings are down in Cincinnati so far this year compared to the same time last year with overall violent crime at a six-year low, Isaac told City Council last week.

The city manager has sole authority to appoint a new police chief, but Black described a community feedback process during Isaac’s announcement as chief.

FOX19 NOW has reached out to the city manager about when a process for selecting Isaac’s replacement might begin.

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