Cincinnati Mayor Apologizes for ‘Huge Mistake’ Honoring a Cop Killer

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley broke down in tears apologizing to police Thursday night after his office mistakenly honored a man who had killed an officer in 2015.

“This was a huge mistake,” Cranley said, USA Today reports. “It’s not done intentionally. It’s human error, but the buck stops with me. I love our police department. I would never do anything to hurt them.”

WCPO Cincinnati reports that a new employee in Cranley’s office stamped a proclamation making June 1, 2017 “Tre Day” in honor of Trepierre Hummons, after a request by Hummons’ father. But on June 19, 2015, Trepierre Hummons shot Officer Sonny Kim and began firing at other officers; Hummons was shot, and he and Kim both died of their wounds.

“This was completely and utterly my fault and I apologize to anyone it has hurt,” communications director Holly Smith, who granted the request, told WCPO. “Truly I do.”

“Sonny Kim is a hero and as long as I am Mayor, Cincinnati will not honor in any way the man who murdered him in cold blood,” Cranley wrote in a letter to the president of the Fraternal Order of Police. “I cannot express how deeply sorry I am that this has happened.”