Chief a listener open to change
By Theodore Decker
Kimberley Jacobs was a patrol officer in the early 1980s when she sent a memo
up the chain of command, recommending that the Columbus Division of Police
change its handling of death investigations.
Police often respond to death scenes to ensure that no crime has occurred. But back then, Jacobs thought one scenario didn’t seem reasonable or essential: Police were required to go to homes after a resident had died while in hospice care.
“There was no need for us to be there,” she said. “We didn’t need to invade the privacy of the moment.”
The rule was changed, and Jacobs learned a lesson that she said helped her to become the division’s 32nd chief and first female chief.
“A lot of people just don’t go to the effort,” Jacobs said last week. “They think that’s the way it is, and they don’t try to change things.”
Jacobs, 54, was selected from among four deputy chiefs. Mayor Michael B. Coleman said she was chosen for her innovation, leadership and efficiency. According to the Department of Public Safety, she will be paid $148,175 annually.
Jacobs is one of five children of Dottie and Calvin Knight, a nurse and an Ohio State University Extension agent.
She was born in Paulding, though her family later moved near Steubenville and again to Ashland, where Jacobs was a multisport high-school athlete.
After graduation, she majored in sociology and ran hurdles at Ohio State University. Police work was not yet on her mind. She had hoped to become a veterinarian.
“I knew every horse breed, I knew every dog breed when I was growing up,” she said.
Jacobs said she considered law enforcement only after the State Highway Patrol showed an interest in her.
She joined the Columbus force in 1979 and soon was on the streets of Franklinton, teamed with an officer with whom she eventually married.
Back then, women rarely appeared in the ranks.
“I heard about other women, but I didn’t see them,” she said. “There were so few of us that there weren’t even enough of us for a clique.
“There was a lot of apprehension. You had to prove yourself.”
Though she enjoyed the streets, Jacobs gradually discovered that she was suited for police work behind the scenes.
“I had an aptitude for administrative stuff,” she said. “I was even more organized than I am now. I had every single phone number within the Division of Police memorized, I think.”
She revamped the division’s ride-along program. She wrote a handbook, “B Company Basics,” for new sergeants.
Retired Deputy Chief Antone Lanata remembers when Jacobs floated an idea to retool how police handled calls for service. Lanata gave her a year to study and fix the problem, which she did.
He said he came to rely upon Jacobs as a go-to subordinate who could be trusted to speak the truth.
“I just found her encyclopedic in her knowledge and her ideas,” Lanata said. “She was dead-on with everything. Kim knew what was really going on.”
In 1995, she became the first female commander, overseeing at different times the communications and internal-affairs bureaus and Zone 4.
As a deputy chief under Chief Walter Distelzweig, Jacobs caught some flak for her role in a 2010 patrol reorganization that drew fire from the police union.
“That was a very difficult assignment that Chief Distelzweig gave her,” said Ohio State University sociology professor Richard Lundman. “She didn’t make a lot of friends doing that.”
Lundman taught Jacobs as an undergraduate and invites her back to Ohio State each year to speak to his classes.
“She has very clearly paid her dues,” he said.
Jacobs and her husband divorced after 20 years of marriage. Their sons, Sam and Peter, are both grown.
She said Peter hopes to follow his parents into police work.
Jacobs lives on the Northwest Side with her partner of seven years, Bobbi Bedinghaus, who is a sign-language instructor. They share their home with Bedinghaus’ 17-year-old daughter and the couple’s two wheaten terriers.
Jacobs has spent her first weeks as chief meeting with her command staff and visiting substations. Gun violence and property crimes have her attention, and a reorganization of the detective bureau is on the horizon.
“I’ve already heard strategies in some of my roll calls, and said, “Yup, you’re right, that strategy sounds a lot better,” she said of her meetings with patrol officers. “They have great ideas. They just need to be listened to.”
Sgt. Jim Gilbert, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, has been impressed with Jacobs’ early accessibility.
“So far, she’s been asking for a lot of opinions, which is good,” he said. “You can agree to disagree, but communication is very important.”
Jacobs said, “I can handle people disagreeing with me. I just like to make sure that it’s based on facts.”
She said she wants people to feel good about the work they do.
“I think that I can give that to them. One of the ways is to answer those concerns that they have, those rumors that they’ve heard that aren’t true, and let them know that yes, indeed, we do have an exciting future.”
Police often respond to death scenes to ensure that no crime has occurred. But back then, Jacobs thought one scenario didn’t seem reasonable or essential: Police were required to go to homes after a resident had died while in hospice care.
“There was no need for us to be there,” she said. “We didn’t need to invade the privacy of the moment.”
The rule was changed, and Jacobs learned a lesson that she said helped her to become the division’s 32nd chief and first female chief.
“A lot of people just don’t go to the effort,” Jacobs said last week. “They think that’s the way it is, and they don’t try to change things.”
Jacobs, 54, was selected from among four deputy chiefs. Mayor Michael B. Coleman said she was chosen for her innovation, leadership and efficiency. According to the Department of Public Safety, she will be paid $148,175 annually.
Jacobs is one of five children of Dottie and Calvin Knight, a nurse and an Ohio State University Extension agent.
She was born in Paulding, though her family later moved near Steubenville and again to Ashland, where Jacobs was a multisport high-school athlete.
After graduation, she majored in sociology and ran hurdles at Ohio State University. Police work was not yet on her mind. She had hoped to become a veterinarian.
“I knew every horse breed, I knew every dog breed when I was growing up,” she said.
Jacobs said she considered law enforcement only after the State Highway Patrol showed an interest in her.
She joined the Columbus force in 1979 and soon was on the streets of Franklinton, teamed with an officer with whom she eventually married.
Back then, women rarely appeared in the ranks.
“I heard about other women, but I didn’t see them,” she said. “There were so few of us that there weren’t even enough of us for a clique.
“There was a lot of apprehension. You had to prove yourself.”
Though she enjoyed the streets, Jacobs gradually discovered that she was suited for police work behind the scenes.
“I had an aptitude for administrative stuff,” she said. “I was even more organized than I am now. I had every single phone number within the Division of Police memorized, I think.”
She revamped the division’s ride-along program. She wrote a handbook, “B Company Basics,” for new sergeants.
Retired Deputy Chief Antone Lanata remembers when Jacobs floated an idea to retool how police handled calls for service. Lanata gave her a year to study and fix the problem, which she did.
He said he came to rely upon Jacobs as a go-to subordinate who could be trusted to speak the truth.
“I just found her encyclopedic in her knowledge and her ideas,” Lanata said. “She was dead-on with everything. Kim knew what was really going on.”
In 1995, she became the first female commander, overseeing at different times the communications and internal-affairs bureaus and Zone 4.
As a deputy chief under Chief Walter Distelzweig, Jacobs caught some flak for her role in a 2010 patrol reorganization that drew fire from the police union.
“That was a very difficult assignment that Chief Distelzweig gave her,” said Ohio State University sociology professor Richard Lundman. “She didn’t make a lot of friends doing that.”
Lundman taught Jacobs as an undergraduate and invites her back to Ohio State each year to speak to his classes.
“She has very clearly paid her dues,” he said.
Jacobs and her husband divorced after 20 years of marriage. Their sons, Sam and Peter, are both grown.
She said Peter hopes to follow his parents into police work.
Jacobs lives on the Northwest Side with her partner of seven years, Bobbi Bedinghaus, who is a sign-language instructor. They share their home with Bedinghaus’ 17-year-old daughter and the couple’s two wheaten terriers.
Jacobs has spent her first weeks as chief meeting with her command staff and visiting substations. Gun violence and property crimes have her attention, and a reorganization of the detective bureau is on the horizon.
“I’ve already heard strategies in some of my roll calls, and said, “Yup, you’re right, that strategy sounds a lot better,” she said of her meetings with patrol officers. “They have great ideas. They just need to be listened to.”
Sgt. Jim Gilbert, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, has been impressed with Jacobs’ early accessibility.
“So far, she’s been asking for a lot of opinions, which is good,” he said. “You can agree to disagree, but communication is very important.”
Jacobs said, “I can handle people disagreeing with me. I just like to make sure that it’s based on facts.”
She said she wants people to feel good about the work they do.
“I think that I can give that to them. One of the ways is to answer those concerns that they have, those rumors that they’ve heard that aren’t true, and let them know that yes, indeed, we do have an exciting future.”
No comments:
Post a Comment