Latest / Brian Thomas / Ken Kober - Federal Gun Prosecutions UP 250%

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Ken Kober - Federal Gun Prosecutions UP 250% · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: KRC the talk station happy Tuesday to you and welcome
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: back to the 55 KRC morning show representing the Cincinnati
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  Speaker 1: Police Department the president of the union FOP president Ken
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  Speaker 1: Kober welcome back Ken it's always a pleasure having you
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  Speaker 1: on the 55 KRC.
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  Speaker 2: Morning show good morning Brian thanks for having.
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  Speaker 1: Me and thank God for federal prosecutors right absolutely Well,
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  Speaker 1: it was reported, WCPO gives Stephen Nobile credit for it,
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  Speaker 1: but it's widely known that the federal prosecutors locally have
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  Speaker 1: gotten involved in prosecuting gun possession cases. Federal prosecutors, they
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  Speaker 1: say prosecutions for gun cases in Cincinnati increased 250% in
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  Speaker 1: the last fiscal year. U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
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  Speaker 1: District of Ohio, run by U.S. Attorney Dominic Garaci, It says, well,
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  Speaker 1: he said the increase reflects a greater focus on prosecuting
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  Speaker 1: gun cases, but does not translate into an increase in
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  Speaker 1: gun violence. Violence and prosecutions, death, homicide, and prosecutions, two
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  Speaker 1: completely separate categories. So let's focus on the gun cases.
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  Speaker 1: Why do you think the U.S. Attorney General felt it
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  Speaker 1: necessary to start prosecuting gun cases here in the greater
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  Speaker 1: Cincinnati area, Ken Kober?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, you know, in a sense. It would have been
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  Speaker 2: probably about a year and a half ago with the
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  Speaker 2: county prosecutor, sheriff, police chief, Senator Moreno came into town.
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  Speaker 2: And one of the things we're talking about is how
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  Speaker 2: do we get a handle on gun violence? And Donovan said, look,
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  Speaker 2: it's simple. Prosecute these cases. If there are constraints that
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  Speaker 2: keep the county prosecutor's office from doing it, then I'll
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  Speaker 2: step in and do it. And the reality is these
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  Speaker 2: bad guys... They don't care about doing state time, most
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  Speaker 2: of them. But what they do fear is doing federal time.
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  Speaker 2: When they get federally convicted and they get a 15-year
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  Speaker 2: sentence for simply just carrying a gun that they shouldn't have,
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  Speaker 2: where in Hamilton County you get probation, it's going to
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  Speaker 2: make a difference, especially when they sentence them to 15
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  Speaker 2: years and they end up in Arizona, the other side
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  Speaker 2: of the country. It makes it very uncomfortable, which is
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  Speaker 2: a great deterrent.
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  Speaker 1: That is. You know, I was not aware that we
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  Speaker 1: shipped our federal criminals out of state there, Ken Coburn. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: they don't get any visits from family members. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. It makes it just makes it more uncomfortable. So
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  Speaker 2: I love what they're doing. It is certainly going to
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  Speaker 2: have an impact on violence when they realize that the
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  Speaker 2: federal prosecutors here in this region are not messing around.
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  Speaker 2: And if you commit gun violence, you carry a gun
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  Speaker 2: and you're prohibited from doing it. you're likely going to
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  Speaker 2: spend the better part of the next decade in prison,
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  Speaker 2: which is exactly where they should be.
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  Speaker 1: Well, clearly you're hoping the word gets out. I guess
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  Speaker 1: I'm wondering, have you, the police department, since the police
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  Speaker 1: department noticed any change in the number of people carrying
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  Speaker 1: weapons around out there or has word yet to get out?
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  Speaker 1: Because according to Gracie, they've already charged 63 defendants in
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  Speaker 1: federal crimes during this fiscal year. It was only 18 previously.
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  Speaker 1: So a lot of people getting prosecuted now.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. And what they do is they're taking the worst
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  Speaker 2: of the worst. They're taking the people that are driving violence,
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  Speaker 2: the ones that are selling guns to people that shouldn't
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  Speaker 2: have them. And those are the ones that they're targeting.
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  Speaker 2: It's not necessarily the first time offender or somebody that
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  Speaker 2: shouldn't have a gun and they were carrying it anyway.
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  Speaker 2: They're taking people that are that are really, really driving
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  Speaker 2: violence in this region. And it is going to make
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  Speaker 2: a difference. And whether or not there's a direct correlation
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  Speaker 2: between our homicide rate being lower this year and that,
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  Speaker 2: I think time's going to tell. But I hope he
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  Speaker 2: keeps his foot on the gas because long term it's
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  Speaker 2: going to make a real difference.
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  Speaker 1: Well, of course it is because the recidivists are the
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  Speaker 1: biggest problem. I mean, they continue doing it over and
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  Speaker 1: over again. They never have learned a lesson, I guess,
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  Speaker 1: because we're too soft on crime in Hamilton County. But
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  Speaker 1: federal prison, big boy prison, that may have a ripple effect. Now,
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  Speaker 1: insofar as homicides being down, because the city keeps saying
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  Speaker 1: over and over again, well, homicides are down, homicides are down,
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  Speaker 1: and I guess statistically maybe it bears it out, 25%
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  Speaker 1: down citywide year-to-date, according to the Cincinnati officials. They claim,
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  Speaker 1: and here's the question I have to ask you because
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  Speaker 1: it's reported, they credit the declines in homicides to Act
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  Speaker 1: for Cincy, which is described as a strategy combining police
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  Speaker 1: efforts with community partnerships, neighborhood investments, and other public safety initiatives.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know whether or not that statement is accurate?
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  Speaker 1: Because that's what was reported by WCPO. Act for Cincy.
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  Speaker 2: I don't really buy it. I know that organization is
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  Speaker 2: extremely anti-police.
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  Speaker 1: So it kind of.
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  Speaker 2: Flies in the face of rationale when you say, oh,
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  Speaker 2: we're working with the police. Because that is the exact
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  Speaker 2: opposite of what this organization strives to do.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what, I guess... Kind of curious
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  Speaker 1: to know about morale after the election, considering it was
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  Speaker 1: like the repeated cast of characters and all the good
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  Speaker 1: judges in Hamilton County apparently voted off the bench in
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  Speaker 1: favor of these more liberal judges. FOP President Ken Cobra,
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  Speaker 1: I want to hold you over. I want to ask
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  Speaker 1: you about morale in the Cincinnati Police Department and maybe
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  Speaker 1: get your reaction to what's going on with Chief Washington
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  Speaker 1: as it relates to the current status of Police Chief Fiji.
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  Speaker 1: What is going on with her and how is that
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  Speaker 1: impacting the Cincinnati Police Department? It's 635 right now, 55KRC,
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  Speaker 1: the talk station. Good morning, Dr. Fred Pack. He's my...
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  Speaker 1: Beep Talk Station. 639-55-KRC-D Talk Station. Ryan Thomas with FOP
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  Speaker 1: President Ken Kober representing the Cincinnati Police Department. God bless
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  Speaker 1: each and every one of them doing the hardest work
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  Speaker 1: out there day to day. Ken Kober, real quick here.
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  Speaker 1: We know that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
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  Speaker 1: District of Ohio, federal big boy, they're going after people
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  Speaker 1: carrying guns. We talked about this in the last segment.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know whether any of the Gracie prosecutions involve
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  Speaker 1: juveniles being tried as adults? Because we all know Judge
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  Speaker 1: Bloom doesn't even bother letting the world know that some
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  Speaker 1: of these juveniles are packing heat and have been picked
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  Speaker 1: up with guns at multiple times. Any idea about that?
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  Speaker 2: I'm not aware of any juveniles that are being prosecuted federally,
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  Speaker 2: primarily because the laws typically prohibit that. And like I said,
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  Speaker 2: most of these, these, uh, targets that they're going after
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  Speaker 2: are people that have lived a life of violent crime.
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  Speaker 2: They're not typically like the first or second time offenders. Okay.
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  Speaker 1: And that makes sense, going after the worst of the
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  Speaker 1: worst first, and then you can move down the ladder
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  Speaker 1: to the rest of the offenders.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I know the city is crowing about the homicide
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  Speaker 1: rates down 25% year to date. My question to you is, Ken,
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  Speaker 1: is there any shot spotter statistics out there? Do we
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  Speaker 1: know how many gunshots have been recorded Are the number
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  Speaker 1: of gunshots recorded lower this year than last year? Do
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  Speaker 1: you know anything about that? Because it seems to me
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  Speaker 1: that a lot of people are running around squeezing off rounds,
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  Speaker 1: maybe hitting someone, but not rendering them, you know, it's
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  Speaker 1: not a fatal gunshot wound. They end up at UC
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  Speaker 1: Medical Center, they're sewed back together, and they're back out.
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  Speaker 1: So what's the story on ShotSpotter?
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  Speaker 2: I think if you asked a typical beat officer that
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  Speaker 2: responds to these things on a daily basis, there hasn't
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  Speaker 2: been much change. I mean, thankfully, being down 25% is
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  Speaker 2: something to be thankful for, but that could just as
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  Speaker 2: easily be up 25% if these bullets are actually hitting
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  Speaker 2: intended targets and doing fatal damage.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, without question. I mean, it's heartbreaking to find out
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  Speaker 1: that people are so used to hearing gunfire that they
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  Speaker 1: don't even pay any attention to it anymore. So I just.
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  Speaker 1: Just really heartbreaking. Anyhow, heartbreaking also, my understanding of the
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  Speaker 1: morale of the Cincinnati Police Department. You're down a huge
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  Speaker 1: number of officers. I understand that a lot of officers
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  Speaker 1: aren't even bothering to go through the entire drop program,
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  Speaker 1: just moving on to secure other employment or just quit
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  Speaker 1: the job altogether. And we had the election last week
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  Speaker 1: where all of the liberal judges were appointed to the
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  Speaker 1: bench and some really good conservative judges were voted out
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  Speaker 1: of office. How does that feel, Ken Kober, to get
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  Speaker 1: the Hamilton County's reaction to this and know that the
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  Speaker 1: residents of Hamilton County are going all full, well, woke
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  Speaker 1: in terms of the bench?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a lot of officers are disappointed. Like
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  Speaker 2: you said, we had some really, really good law and
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  Speaker 2: order judges that are no longer going to be on
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  Speaker 2: the bench. And it's frustrating to see that voters, they're
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  Speaker 2: just looking simply at a letter behind somebody's name and
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  Speaker 2: not what they're actually doing to keep this county safe.
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  Speaker 2: And the ripple effect is going to be pretty frightening
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  Speaker 2: over the next several years to see when we continue
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  Speaker 2: this soft on crime nonsense thing. there's going to be
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  Speaker 2: an impact that people are certainly going to feel.
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  Speaker 1: And another thing that's impacting the morale of the police
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  Speaker 1: department is the status of the police chief. You get
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  Speaker 1: a general sense of the officers and where they are
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  Speaker 1: relative to Police Chief DG, who's right now going through
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  Speaker 1: her administrative appeal process, which they denied Fire Chief Washington,
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  Speaker 1: much to their regret on council, or rather City Manager
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  Speaker 1: Long and after Pearl Ball. But She's getting the complete treatment,
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  Speaker 1: but are the officers ready to have Police Chief Fiji
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  Speaker 1: back in her job if it goes that way? Where
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  Speaker 1: are they in that?
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  Speaker 2: I think the reality is what officers want to know
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  Speaker 2: is who is going to be the permanent leader. Whether
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  Speaker 2: that's Interim Chief Henney, whether Chief Fiji comes back through
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  Speaker 2: this court process, I think this is the longest and
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  Speaker 2: the longest. I'm in my 27th year. This is the
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  Speaker 2: longest I've ever seen an interim chief be in place. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I understand why, because at the end of the month,
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  Speaker 2: Chief DG is going to have her day in court.
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  Speaker 2: And if that goes the way that she expects it to,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, there's a real possibility that she could be back.
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  Speaker 2: So making a permanent chief in that position, what would
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  Speaker 2: they do with Interim Chief Henney? So I certainly understand
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  Speaker 2: the predicament of the city, but there needs to be
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  Speaker 2: some finality for the police department to move forward.
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  Speaker 1: And that finality is needed. So the chief is more
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  Speaker 1: than a figurehead for the police department's morale. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: you need stability in the chief's office. Is that really
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  Speaker 1: how that translates, Ken?
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  Speaker 2: There's some decisions that interim chiefs are absolutely hesitant to
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  Speaker 2: make because they don't know if they're going to be
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  Speaker 2: in that role permanently or not. You know, things that
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  Speaker 2: could affect day-to-day operations. And I can certainly understand why
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  Speaker 2: they shy away from that, but it certainly comes at
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  Speaker 2: a price. And unfortunately, the rank and file seem to
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  Speaker 2: be paying that every day.
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  Speaker 1: No question about it. Well, you and my listening audience
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  Speaker 1: and I have your back and all the police department's back.
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate you in spite of how the elected officials
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  Speaker 1: feel about law enforcement. Well, if there's any glimmer of
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  Speaker 1: hope or maybe schadenfreude in all this, it looks like
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  Speaker 1: City Manager Cheryl Long might have a real problem on
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  Speaker 1: her hands as it relates to her treatment of Fire
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  Speaker 1: Chief Washington.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, there's no doubt. I mean, his guy
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  Speaker 2: spent his life's work protecting the city, being a firefighter,
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  Speaker 2: and to be treated that way. I think the courts
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  Speaker 2: have recognized that it was absolutely wrong, and there's certainly
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  Speaker 2: going to be a heavy price to pay for the city.
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  Speaker 2: And I hope Chief Washington gets everything that he deserves
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  Speaker 2: because he's a good man.
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  Speaker 1: He is a good man. By all accounts, everybody seems
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  Speaker 1: to be on his side on this. Ken Kober, God
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  Speaker 1: bless you and all law enforcement officers. I appreciate you
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  Speaker 1: coming on the program. You know you're always welcome here.
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  Speaker 1: Anytime you want to talk about issues impacting the police
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  Speaker 1: department or the city, generally speaking.
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  Speaker 2: I appreciate you having me. The support really does make
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  Speaker 2: a difference. We're grateful for it.
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  Speaker 1: I sure hope so because it comes from the heart,
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  Speaker 1: my friend. It truly does. Hang in there and be safe,
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  Speaker 1: my friend. We'll talk again real soon. 646 and 55KRC,
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  Speaker 1: the talk station. Don't look back.