FOP president demands city move District 5 headquarters by Christmas

Citing an unusual number of police officers who have died from cancer and cramped working conditions, FOP President Dan Hils demanded the city's administration find a new headquarters for its District Five officers by Christmas. "I've always said, 'Get them out of here,' but I've never set a date before," Hils said. "I'm going as high on the food chain as I can go without calling the governor or the White House. I'm asking for John Cranley's involvement, which I've never done before." Hils repeated a few times during a news conference Tuesday that he's no scientist, but he and many others find it strange that six employees under the age of 60 died in 2015 and 2016 from cancer. He blames the Ludlow Avenue building itself, which Cincinnati Police moved into in 1957 as a temporary fix. Sixty "temporary" years later, Hils calls it a "dump." "This is too easy. This is a no-brainer," he said. "It's time to move these folks before they hear about somebody else they work with (getting cancer) and wonder whether it's due to this building or not."