Eight members of the Cincinnati Police Department will be promoted in a ceremony at 11:00 a.m. Thursday October 18 in the North Meeting Room of the Duke Convention Center, 525 Elm Street. Chief Thomas H. Streicher, Jr. will preside and administer the oath of office to the following three Lieutenants, four Sergeants and one Specialist.
Lieutenant Paul Neudigate is a graduate of Oak Hills High School, and he continued his studies at the University of Cincinnati. He served six years in the Active Reserve with the Ohio Army National Guard. In October 1990 he entered the 74th Recruit Class at the Police Academy. His first assignment upon graduation was on patrol in District Three. He has also served in District Four, Central Vice Control Section, and Planning Section. Lieutenant Neudigate is a member of the SWAT team. He has also worked as a Mountain Bike Patrol Officer and as a Field Training Officer to assist in the development of new officers. His wife, Sergeant Marilee Neudigate, works in District One’s Special Events Unit; his stepdaughter is Officer Alaina Weber, who works in District Four. Lieutenant Neudigate is a resident of Anderson Township.
Lieutenant Lisa Thomas is a graduate of Oak Hills High School. She graduated with honors, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati. In February 1985 she began her career with the Cincinnati Police Department working as an Operator and Dispatcher in the Communications Section. In May 1990 she entered the Police Academy’s 73rd Recruit Class. Upon graduation, she was assigned to patrol in District Four. She has also served in District Five; in the Personal Crimes Unit and the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigation Section; in the Internal Investigations and Planning Sections; and in the Vortex Unit. Lieutenant Thomas is a graduate of the 116th Administrative Officers Class of the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville. She is a resident of Westwood.
Lieutenant Michael John is a graduate of Llanishen High School in Cardiff, Wales. He earned a bachelor’s degree with joint honors in zoology and environmental science at the University of Wales in Cardiff. He began his career with the Cincinnati Police Department in January 1997 as a member of the Police Academy’s 83rd Recruit Class. Upon graduation in June of that year, he was assigned to patrol in District Three, where he later worked as a Neighborhood Officer. He has also served in District Four, in the Internal Investigations Section, and in the Park Unit of Special Services Section. His father-in-law is retired Amberley Village Police Chief Garry Benner. Lieutenant Johns makes his home in Delhi with his wife and their two children.
Sergeant Brian Beechler is a graduate of McClain High School in Greenfield, Ohio, and he earned an Associate Degree in criminal justice at Ohio University. In July 1999 he entered the Police Academy’s 88th Recruit Class. His first assignment upon graduation was on patrol in District Two. Since January 2005 he has served in the Violent Crimes Squad of District Two. Sergeant Beechler has one daughter. He resides in Anderson Township.
Sergeant Gil Thompson is a graduate of St. John’s Military Academy in Salina, Kansas. He studied criminal justice at Sinclair Community College and at the University of Cincinnati. He served seven years with the United States Air Force and was a part of Operation Desert Storm. In January 1996 he entered the Police Academy’s 81st Recruit Class. His first assignment upon graduation was on patrol in District Four. He has also served in Districts Two and Three, in the Major Offenders Unit of the Criminal Investigation Section, in Communications Section, and in the Vortex Unit. Law enforcement runs in the family: his wife, Officer Kathy Thompson, serves in District One; his brother serves with the Sheriff’s Office in Lowndes County, Mississippi; a cousin serves with the Detroit Police Department; one uncle is a retired Detroit Police Officer; and another uncle retired after a career with the District of Columbia Police Department. Sergeant Thompson and his wife make their home in Madisonville with their four children.
Sergeant Terrance Sherman is a graduate of Princeton High School, and he is pursuing studies for a bachelor’s degree at Temple Baptist College. He served for nearly five years in the United States Army and was posted in Wiesbaden, Germany, for three years. In July 1996 he entered the Police Academy’s 82nd Recruit Class. His first assignment upon graduation was on patrol in District Three. He became a Mountain Bike Patrol Officer in 1998. Since 2006, he has been a member of District One’s Downtown Services Unit. Sergeant Sherman and his wife are the parents of three grown children. They make their home in Woodlawn.
Sergeant George Jason is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School, and he continued his studies at Miami University. He served six years in the Unites States Air Force: two years on active duty and four years in the Reserve. In July 1997 he entered the Police Academy’s 84th Recruit Class. His first assignment upon graduation was on patrol in District Two, where he later worked as a Neighborhood Officer. He has also served in District Four. Most recently, he has been the crime analyst in District Two’s Investigative Unit. Sergeant Jason has five children. He lives in Madison Place.
Police Specialist Robin Williams is a graduate of Pendleton County High School in Falmouth, Kentucky, and she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and communications at Thomas More College. In July 1999 she entered the Police Academy’s 88th Recruit Class. Upon graduation in December of that year, she was assigned to patrol in District One. She later transferred to the Violent Crimes Squad of District One. She is a resident of Loveland.
