Whitehall Mayor Michael Bivens said he won't investigate the city’s police department following criticism from the local police union.
Bivens, in a press conference on Friday, denied results of a survey that was critical of the police department's culture. Enrique Ortega, a Fraternal Order of Police grievance officer, conducted that survey in May 2024 and presented it to the city.
Ortega was fired in early July.
The police chief and the union president are both alleging the other is at fault for a faltering relationship between the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9 and the city.
Bivens presented a survey of Whitehall officers conducted back in 2022 that he says disputes what Ortega alleged. Bivens said he reviewed both surveys before coming to his decision.
“After a complete review of the nationally recognized results of the research-based survey done by the city, review of the data from the Whitehall Division of Police and the survey presented to me by the FOP, I will not conduct an investigation into the Whitehall Division of Police,” Bivens said.
The survey was conducted between November and December of 2022 by the National Research Center.
Bivens said he has complete confidence in Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen and all employees of the Whitehall Division of Police.
Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Steel said he still thinks Whitehall should still conduct an independent review of the allegations. He criticized the city for hiring an outside PR firm to handle messaging for the city amid the dispute.
“An independent investigation is essential, and it's really the only way we can uphold these values and ensure that our officers and communities, are felt and heard,” Steel said.
Steel and Crispen criticized each other Friday, revealing a dispute between the two beyond the institutional problems that Ortega’s survey alleged.
Crispen alleged the police union president is at fault.
"It's a singular person personality conflict. It is not the FOP. That's a great organization. I used to be the president of that lodge for the state,” Crispen said.
Steel, in an interview with WOSU, shot back alleging Crispen has personal issues with the FOP dating back before his time as president.
"Brian Steel has only been the president since April. He has a problem with Brian Steel. Jeff Simpson was the president. He had a problem with Jeff Simpson. Keith Ferrell was the president. He had a problem with Keith Ferrell,” Steel said.
Both men indicated they want to heal the fractured relationship between the FOP and the Whitehall Police Department's leadership.
“This can't continue on. This is very disruptive, not only disruptive to our department, it's disruptive to our ability to keep the mission focused on keeping this community safe,” Crispen said.
Crispen and Bivens used the 2022 survey to combat the narrative of Ortega’s survey released in May.
The survey gave high marks to the department and rated the ethics of coworkers positively. It also found the police department's staff appreciate the climate the organization has fostered, and express confidence in leadership.
About 80% or more of respondents said they were very or moderately confident in the leadership of supervisors, senior city management, elected officials and lieutenants at the Whitehall Division of Police.
The lowest ratings respondents gave the department were in quality of work-life balance and work benefits like vacation and sick leave.
Bivens said this disputes what Ortega’s survey said.
"It indicates division of police staff appreciate the climate. The organization has fostered and expressed confidence in leadership. And then it essentially says about nine out of ten staff give high marks to the working relationships and collaboration among all staff in their work unit, scoring higher than the national averages,” Bivens said.
Bivens criticized Ortega’s survey for only getting a portion of the police department. He questioned whether Ortega interviewed past officers or people from outside of the department.
“I wouldn’t use the word made up. I would doubt the veracity, of the allegations with respect to (Ortega’s survey),” Bivens said.
The city’s survey said it surveyed 87% of the department’s employees.
Steel said a big difference between the survey is that Ortega’s was anonymous while the city’s wasn’t. He said that influenced responses.
Steel also alleged the city asked for the officers names who responded to Ortega’s survey, but the FOP refused to release the names.
“We're not turning over the names of the officers and losing their trust. They've already lost trust from their chief and now elected officials,” Steel said.
Bivens and Crispen said since this survey, no officer has come forward with similar concerns. Crispen said without evidence of a problem, he can’t fix it.
“There have been many occasions to see if there was some truth to any of this. We've asked for evidence over and over and over. I mean, I can't fix something that don't exist,” Crispen said.
Steel said the FOP is considering other options. In the meantime, the dispute continues.
Steel also said he received a cease and desist letter from lawyers that said they represent Crispen. Steel said Crispen is threatening to sue him for defamation of character.
