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.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Tessa Berenson Rogers at tessa.Rogers@time.com