NAACP Backs New Dayton Police Chief Hiring Process

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The NAACP held a press conference to announce that they are fully behind the hiring of Dayton’s new police chief, while also claiming it’s unfair to continue pushing questions regarding the process.

During the press conference, the NAACP voiced its support for new Dayton Police Chief Eric Henderson, stating that it was involved in the hiring process and trusted the process that was in place to hire the new chief.

“We are in 100 percent of him leading this police department,” said NAACP President Derrick Foward.

However, many groups are also claiming the process to hire the new chief was not robust enough, as it did not include enough groups and officials. Likewise, some officials have voiced their disapproval of the process, such as Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss and City Commissioner Darryl Fairchild.

“To allow him to have to go through that, our own homegrown young man from Dayton, Ohio, Meadow High School, I think it’s a slap in the face,” said Foward. “It’s their opinion, and it’s okay to have that type of opinion for a person who is qualified for the job. Why create dissension within your own department?”

Likewise, some say that criticism is causing ripple effects.

“If you’re against the process, then you’re against the people that were involved in the process,” said Donald Domineck, the chair of the Dayton New Black Panther Party. “They’re making the community look really bad right back, calling for this lady’s resignation, and that has done nothing wrong. Most of them don’t even know what her job entailed.”

The NAACP also addressed the push for the resignation of City Manager Shelley Dickstein, stating that they fully support her and the board she assembled for the hiring of the chief.