MANSFIELD — The first time Keith Porch heard a police dispatcher on the radio was enough to send he and his brother running home.
The 49-year-old Porch — on his final day as the Mansfield Police Department chief — laughed in his office Tuesday afternoon as he recalled the day he and his brother visited their father’s place of employment at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
“We were 10 or 11 years old and we went to visit my dad at work. There were four or five city trucks there that had the yellow caution light bars on them,” said Porch, who began his new role as the city’s safety service director on Wednesday.
“I climbed in one and my brother climbed in another. We’re pretending to be like in police cars stopping people. We were talking back and forth on the radio. A police dispatcher came on the radio and asked ‘What 300 (police) unit is on this channel?’
“We both locked eyes and jumped out of the trucks. We thought they had the technology to immediately know the location of the radios being transmitted. We told my father we were leaving and we ran home.
“We thought the police were coming.”
Fortunately for the Mansfield Police Department, and the citizens it serves, that scary childhood moment didn’t frighten Porch away from his childhood dream.
‘I wanted to be a Mansfield police officer’
“From the very beginning, I can always remember that I wanted to be a Mansfield police officer. There were two Mansfield officers that lived on my street growing up. Those were my heroes.
“My number one hero in my life was my father and second to that was the Mansfield Police Department,” Porch said.
After graduating from Mansfield Senior High School, Porch pursued his career in law enforcement. At 18, he was too young to be a Mansfield police officer. He was, however, accepted into the state patrol academy, sponsored by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
After graduating, Porch applied for a job as a deputy. But he was convinced other older applicants would be selected in front of him even as he was summoned for a second interview.
“I was shocked and surprised when Sheriff (Jim) Stierhoff came out and told me I would be the next deputy he hired. I was the youngest deputy sheriff in the state at the time (1994),” he said.
“I loved working for Sheriff Stierhoff and I still think of the chance he took on me. I’ll remember it until the day I die.”
Five years into his career, Porch made the move to the MPD as a patrol officer.
“I didn’t leave the sheriff’s department because I disliked working there. It was a great department. It was a financial move. Mansfield officers were making more than sheriff’s deputies,” he said.
In his 25 years with the MPD, Porch has had nearly every job possible, promoted to sergeant in 2009 and lieutenant in 2013.
(Below is a PDF of a press release describing the Mansfield Police Department career of outgoing Chief Keith Porch.)
Porch became the department’s assistant chief in 2014. Former Mayor Tim Theaker selected him for the top spot in the department in 2019 when Chief Ken Coontz retired.
“My experience in the Mansfield Police Department has been phenomenal,” he said. “Serving the residents of the city of Mansfield and Richland County has been a wonderful experience.”
‘People will never forget how you make them feel’
When asked for a memory or two he will take with him to the ninth floor of the Municipal Building on Wednesday, Porch didn’t choose a big arrest or a large investigation.
“It has never been truer that people will never forget how you make them feel. I had a gentleman stop me once to talk with me … it had a profound impact on my life.
“He said, ‘Officer Porch, you probably don’t remember me. But 10 years ago, I was going to kill myself. The conversation you had with me that day made me change my mind and set me on a different path.’
“That stabbed me to my soul.
“I guess any law enforcement officer during their career, whether it be 25 years or 50 years, you wonder if you made a difference in anyone’s life … change their life for the better.
“Throughout your career, you have highs and lows, but it was during that time where it really made me feel I made a difference. My parents always told us to just do the right thing and treat people the way you want to be treated or how you would want people to treat your family.
“I’ve tried to guide my performance in my job that way,” Porch said.
‘It was very awkward because the source of the conflict, of the protest, was in fact the police’
His tenure as chief admittedly came during some challenging times, including managing a law enforcement agency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Porch took over the MPD one year before George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, a murder that set off waves of protests, some violent, around the country.
One of those protests came a few weeks later in Mansfield’s Central Park, where a large group of residents gathered to peacefully speak out against police brutality taking place against people of color.
It was a stressful time for the entire city, especially the young police chief, who grew up in the community he served.
“My biggest concerns were that we would have civil unrest. With different reports going back and forth, we were teetering on that,” Porch said, adding that activating the MPD’s riot control officers was considered.
“I wanted to make sure priority one was (protecting) life. Priority two was property. But also, as this country affords, I wanted to make sure everyone was able to peacefully assemble and protest the way that we’re meant to do that.
“It was a very, very stressful time for me navigating that because you want to make the best possible decisions on how you deploy the police force at that time. It was very awkward because the source of the conflict, of the protest, was in fact the police,” Porch said.
Ultimately, the chief chose not to fill the square with officers, instead keeping them staged nearby, largely out of sight.
“I wanted to make sure we had a minimal police presence to remove that source of conflict and to give those citizens their moment to protest what was going on during that time, not only in Ohio, but across the country,” Porch said.
The downtown protest took place without any issues.
Manpower shortages were tough to overcome
The last few years have also seen law enforcement shortages around the country as many officers have chosen to retire as soon as possible and fewer people are choosing law enforcement as a career.
That impact has been felt in Mansfield where Porch and his leadership team have struggled to maintain adequate staffing levels. The department is budgeted for 87 sworn officers but saw those numbers dipping well below that number in recent years.
Porch said a police chief should provide three basic functions — hire personnel, train personnel and equip personnel.
“As you can see what’s happening not only in this department, around the state and around the country with regards to staffing, I feel I have failed as far as adding (sufficient) personnel,” he said.
Porch also pointed to a rising level of gun violence in the city, including 12 homicides in 2023.
“I’m not proud of the fact that we have had the most homicides in the history of this police department (last year). We have tried to make sure our personnel are focused on those investigations to make sure we have closure for the victims’ families.
“Every time we have a homicide or a tragic event in this city, I feel every one of those and want to make sure we provide that closure. In some respects, I wish I could have done better for the citizens of Mansfield,” Porch said.
But there have also been successes under his watch in the areas of training and equipment, including the addition of body-worn cameras for officers, the introduction of ShotSpotter gunfire sound-recognizing technology, FLOCK license plate reader cameras, the creation of a new training center near Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport and continued national accreditation for the department by the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.
Many of these advancements have come through national and state financial grants Porch and his team sought and received.
“I have always told the mayor and City Council that I will do the best job I can with the resources allotted to the police department,” he said. “I have been envious of other chiefs that didn’t have to rely on grant funds to advance their departments into the 21st century.”
‘The community has been 100 percent supportive of me and of the men and women of this department’
Porch said he would not be retiring as chief and taking his new role if he wasn’t convinced new Mayor Jodie Perry had a plan for the city — and the city’s safety forces.
“Part of the reason why I accepted the role of safety service director is the vision I saw from Mayor Perry after meeting with her. Those are things that are concerning for her and made me want to jump on board for her team. It’s a new challenge.
“At the end of the day, it’s a much larger larger umbrella I have to be concerned with now, to ensure the citizens are getting the best possible services from both the police and fire. I look forward to the new challenge and and helping the mayor with her vision,” Porch said.
Instead of leaving the Municipal Building, his office will be on the ninth floor instead of the second. One of his first duties will be to assist the mayor in choosing his replacement. Assistant Chief Jason Bammann will act as interim chief until a choice is made.
When she was sworn in as mayor, Perry said she was excited to work with Porch in his new role.
“With all the things that we have going on, I think he’ll provide a really great voice at the table,” she said.
“He’s well respected in the community and I know he’s going to do a great job in that role.”
Law enforcement officers are not known for public introspection. But Porch admitted Tuesday was not an easy day for him.
“I am not leaving the police department because I hate it. I have dedicated my life to law enforcement. Whether that’s 30 years or 50, it’s a sad day (for me) when I leave.
“(Police chief) is the toughest job in America. It’s 24/7. I’ve had good people around me that have made made me look good and made me look successful. I’m forever grateful and that’s both sworn and non-sworn staff.
“The community has been 100 percent supportive of me and of the men and women of this department in the hard work they do every day.
“I wish I could have done more in my role.”