clecpc, Author at Cleveland Community Police Commission

CPC Letter to DOJ Requesting Investigation into Possible Civil Rights Violations During May 30 Lawful Assemblies

The following letter was sent to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Office of the United States Attorney on Thursday, July 16, 2020

July 16, 2020

Dear Mr. Dreiband and Mr. Herdman,

The Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC), on behalf of the people of Cleveland Ohio, request that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) open a probe into multiple incidents of excessive force, unconstitutional policing and other civil rights violations by the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP), Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, and possibly the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Police (RTA PD). The focus of the inquiry requested is specifically centered on the response tactics and policies of these agencies when deploying to lawful assemblies and protests. The scope includes events occurring in Cleveland, Ohio on May 30th, 2020. Ideally, this probe would complement but not repeat the 2014 pattern and practice investigation of the Cleveland Division of Police and would address issues specifically related to exercising first amendment rights in the City of Cleveland.

Incidents of Excessive Force Documented by Media on May 30th

Over the past month, Cleveland’s media outlets have documented chaotic events that occurred Downtown on May 30th, 2020. The City’s residents witnessed a series of incidents involving Cleveland police officers, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputies and possibly Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Police (RTA PD) which seem to have escalated a lawful protest into a violent and chaotic situation resulting in harm to participants and property damage. In at least one case, serious physical harm was inflicted by the police (a matter that may meet its own criteria for a criminal investigation by the DOJ). We believe, despite court order reforms to the Cleveland Police Division, a DOJ investigation is warranted.

The following are brief descriptions of incidents, brought to the CPC by community members that have raised concerns and lead us to make this request.

Witness accounts [1] and video verification [2] showed that unprovoked police began shooting tear gas, flash grenades, pepper balls and wooden bullets into the crowd that had gathered around the Cuyahoga County Justice Center.

At some point during the attack by police on demonstrators, John Sanders was shot in the face with a beanbag round. Mr. Sanders, 24, who was exercising his constitutional right to protest, lost forever the use of his left eye. The officer responsible has still not been identified publicly. [3]

At least one video shows [4] an officer striking a man with a baton who was attempting to create a safe space between protesters and police. Complaints against the Cleveland Division of Police to the Office of Professional Standards doubled in June of 2020 corresponding with this event and other protests. [5]

This Day of Unconstitutional Response to a Lawful Assembly Warrants a Second Look at Issues Specific to the First Amendment.

The Cleveland Community Police Commission asks that the DOJ once again take a look at law enforcement in Cleveland centering around the practices and policies of these agencies in Northeast Ohio that may deprive persons of their right to lawfully assemble. The Constitutional violations specific to exercising first amendment rights appear to have continued despite current reform efforts mandated by the DOJ.

Additionally, there are more departments involved than previous DOJ investigations which only encompassed the actions of the Cleveland Division of Police. Residents of Northeast Ohio deserve equal and professional treatment by all police officers when exercising their right to assemble and protest. City and county official’s subsequent defensive responses to the incidents outlined above show little regard for the trust our current Consent Decree is designed to improve. For example, the media has recently highlighted numerous contradictory statements between the agencies involved. [6]

Although there may be multiple concurrent investigations of these events, the DOJ is uniquely equipped to handle complex questions regarding constitutional rights.

We request that the Civil Rights Division promptly examine whether any or all of these agencies were engaged in violations of civil rights via attacks on peaceful protesters, unlawful arrests of protesters and the use of excessive force on protesters.

Sincerely,
The members of the Cleveland Community Police Commission,

Terry Echols, Gordon Friedman,
Harriet Hadley, Lewis Katz,
Frederick Knuckles, LaToya Logan,
Victoria Marion, Mayele Ngemba,
Megan Testa

[1]
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2020/06/cleveland-police-gave-order-for-george-floyd-protesters-to-disperse-legal-observers-witnesses-said-no-one-heard-it.html

[2]
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2020/07/video-from-clevelands-george-floyd-protest-contains-no-mention-of-protesters-throwing-rocks-before-police-used-pepper-spray-tear-gas-on-crowd.html

[3]
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2020/06/man-who-lost-eye-to-police-fired-bean-bag-round-during-clevelands-george-floyd-protests-i-did-not-deserve-this.html

[4]
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2020/06/cleveland-police-launch-internal-investigation-after-officer-captured-on-video-hitting-peaceful-protester-with-baton-during-justice-center-standoff.html

[5]
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2020/06/cleveland-dispatcher-accused-of-calling-black-lives-matter-terrorist-organization-on-facebook-as-police-complaints-double-in-june.html

[6]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cuyahoga-county-sheriff-contradicts-cleveland-chief-calvin-williams-claim-that-may-30-protesters-breached-the-justice-center/ar-BB16aqQl

CPC Letter Requesting Investigation into Possible Civil Rights Violations During May 30 Lawful Assemblies (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

Analysis of the Cleveland Police Monitoring Team’s Eighth Semiannual Report

Document Created: July 2020

Objective

As part of its mandate outlined by the Consent Decree, the CPC has developed a straightforward way for the citizens of Cleveland to follow the Monitoring Team’s assessment of the progress the City has made towards fully complying with the Consent Decree. By quantifying the Monitoring Team’s assessment, this report will provide the citizens of Cleveland an alternate way to see and understand what progress has been made so far, as well as how much work remains. Read the report here.

Methods

Per the Monitoring Team’s Eighth Semiannual Report, each Paragraph of the Consent Decree is given one of five statuses. Each of these statuses is assigned a numerical score to reflect how much progress has been made towards fully complying with the Consent Decree. Non-compliance and Evaluation Differed are given a score of 0; Partial Compliance has a score of 1; Operational Compliance is 2; and General Compliance has a score of 3. Definitions of these statuses are listed on Page 2.

These scores are then added up by section, then divided by the maximum possible score. This is then done for the entire Semiannual Report to get an overall quantitative assessment of how much progress the City has made towards full compliance. As the number of paragraphs varies among the sections, an evenly weighted final score is also provided.

Results

In brief, given these metrics, the Monitoring Team’s most recent assessment gives the City and CDP an unweighted score of 36.8% (281.5/765) of the way towards full compliance with the Consent Decree, or a weighted score of 31.6% (316.4/1000) of the way towards full compliance.

It is import to note that a full compliance score is NOT necessary for a Consent Decree to be considered effective or complete. The determination of when the City of Cleveland is able to end its Consent Decree is at the sole discretion of the federal court and is based on data and information received from the parties.

Read the Full Analysis: Quantification of the Monitoring Team’s Eighth Semiannual Report (pdf)

Status Conference

July 13, 2020

An order for the parties to appear on July 14, 2020 with agenda.
Read the Order

“The court will hold a status conference on the record with council for the parties in the within case on July 14, 2020 at 3:00 p.m., regarding the Monitor Hassan Aden’s (“Monitor”) audit of disciplinary decisions made by the Director of Public Safety, the implementation of the Cleveland Division of Police Force Review Board Training in light of the Monitor’s qualifications and concerns, (see EFC No. 314), and the status of the Monitor’s review of the use of force during recent protest activity, (see ECF No. 315). The conference will be held remotely given the court’s General Order 2020-08 and concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Videoconference information shall issue in a separate Order. The parties, council for the parties, and the Monitor shall be in attendance. Counsel for the parties and the Monitor shall be prepared to discuss progress to date under the Consent Decree, as well as any outstanding issues.”

Documents to be Discussed

Notice Submitting Monitoring Team Review of Director of Public Safety Disciplinary Decisions

2018 – 2020 DPS Discipline Audit Memorandum

2020 Addendum to DPD Discipline Review

Attachment A – 1.1.11 Disciplinary Guidance 2014-2017

Attachment B1 – General Police Order 1.1.11

Attachment B2 – Group Violation Chart

Attachment C – Amended Disciplinary Matrix 8-12-19

Cleveland Police Monitoring Team Eighth Semiannual Report

Monitoring Team’s 8th Semiannual Report

July 13, 2020

This Eighth Semiannual Report focuses on the efforts of the Cleveland Division of Police (“CDP”) to comply with the requirements of the Consent Decree between the United States and City of Cleveland. It is being issued during an unprecedented time. Even as the nation was making its way through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now grappling with the ongoing realities of systemic racism in all its forms – especially in policing.

Read the Full Report

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The Community Police Commission recommends policy changes to increase police accountability, discipline consistency

For Immediate Release:
June 30, 2020

(CLEVELAND, OH) — The Community Police Commission (CPC) recently submitted recommendations that would make substantial changes to the Cleveland Division of Police’s (CDP) current disciplinary process.

The recommended improvements to the CDP’s Disciplinary Guidance Matrix outlines the changes to be made that would bring the Cleveland Division of Police closer to being into compliance with the consent decree than if the policy remained unchanged.

Improving the discipline policy continues to be a high priority for both the community and officers. It is important to the community that officers are held accountable for their actions and clear guidelines will let officers know that the way discipline is carried out will be consistent and fair.

The Cleveland Police Monitoring Team’s 2018 Police Officer Focus Group report states, “Officers believe that CDP’s administrators are perpetuating a culture of excessive and inconsistent discipline to make it appear that reform is taking place, as opposed to using discipline to teach and impose thoughtful accountability.”

If implemented, the CPC’s recommendations would effectively address the community’s and officer’s concerns by:

● Clarifying existing violations which would reduce supervisors’ arbitrary disciplinary decisions.
● Ensuring the creation, availability, and disclosure of proper documentation relevant to disciplinary decisions.
● Narrows the use of discretion by limiting mitigating and aggravating factors to the most serious offenses.
● Creating a new oversight committee tasked with making sure disciplinary outcomes are consistent.

The CPC’s proposed changes along with a draft showing how the new policy would look can be read here:

● CPC Changes to the Disciplinary Matrix GPO
● Draft CPC Model of Disciplinary Guidance GPO

Over the coming weeks, the CPC looks forward to working with city leaders, DOJ, and Monitoring Team to discuss the CPC’s recommendations.

About the Cleveland Community Police Commission

The CPC was established in 2015 as part of the Consent Decree between the City of Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice. The CPC provides community input on police policies to help strengthen relationships between officers and the communities they serve. Better policies will help ensure policing in Cleveland is safe, effective, and that people’s civil rights are upheld. For more information, visit the CPC’s website: www.clecpc.org.

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Download Statement: CPC Recommends Policy Changes to Increase Police Accountability, Discipline Consistency (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

Cleveland Community Police Commission’s Statement on McGrath Resignation

For Immediate Release:
June 18, 2020

(CLEVELAND, OH) — The Cleveland Community Police Commission has been made aware via a news article in Cleveland.com that Michael McGrath has announced his retirement from the position of Safety Director for the City of Cleveland.

Director McGrath was a polarizing figure when it comes to police reform. His long career with the Cleveland Division of Police, specifically his tenure as Chief of Police during the Department of Justice’s Investigation in 2014, has been controversial. Many Clevelanders and pro-justice organizations have directly advocated for his resignation at our public meetings and through private communications with us due to his perceived friendly bias towards police and law enforcement in general. The persons and groups advocating for his resignation called upon the Mayor to replace him with a qualified, educated and experienced leader who is not emotionally, professionally or philosophically attached to the Cleveland Division of Police. As Governor DeWine alluded to today, police cannot be counted on to be unbiased when they are investigating and disciplining their friends and co-workers.

Today, the Commission calls upon Mayor Jackson to conduct a nationwide search for a qualified and professional Safety Director. Ideally the person selected will be social justice oriented and prioritize the importance of police reform and accountability at this moment in time. We encourage the Mayor to exclude candidates who have served as a Cleveland Police Officer or who have worked closely with the Cleveland Division of Police such as prosecutors or judges.

About the Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC)

The CPC was established in 2015 as part of the Consent Decree between the City of Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice. The CPC works with the community to provide input on police policies to help strengthen relationships between officers and the communities they serve. Better policies will help ensure policing in Cleveland is safe, effective, and that people’s civil rights are upheld. For more information, visit the CPC’s website: www.clecpc.org.

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Download this Statement:
CPC Statement on McGrath Resignation (pdf)

Cleveland Community Police Commission’s (CPC) Statement on the Death of George Floyd

For Immediate Release:
June 1, 2020

(CLEVELAND, OH) — This weekend, Americans came together in solidarity across the nation to condemn racism in protests that were sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Thousands gathered in downtown Cleveland to protest the loss of another black man at the hands of police, and to demand an end to racism, and an end to bias in policing.

All of us on the CPC were profoundly saddened and horrified by George Floyd’s killing, as we were by similar events that took place across the country and in our own city. For this reason, the CPC stands with community members who exercised their first amendment rights in this fight for social justice.

No one in our society benefits from racism, bad policing, or violence. Amidst news reports that focus on the destructive acts of few, the moving narrative of thousands of people of all races and backgrounds demonstrating peacefully for hours in the heart of Cleveland is not being told. The CPC sees, recognizes, and applauds our fellow Clevelanders for conducting themselves peacefully. Your message was not lost. The CPC, in collaboration with citizens, the Department of Justice, and the Cleveland Division of Police, is committed to work towards police reform and establishing an effective civilian oversight system in Cleveland.

The CPC would like to hear from the community, now, as always.

1) If you witnessed police misconduct, file a complaint with the Cleveland Office of Professional Standards (OPS) through the OPS Citizen Complaint Form or by emailing CLEPoliceComplaints@city.cleveland.oh.us.

2) The CPC will be meeting soon to discuss this weekend’s protests. We want to hear from you. We encourage you to send stories and/or images of what you experienced to info@clecpc.org.

3) Please stay in touch by following us on Facebook and Twitter or by signing up to receive the CPC newsletter to be updated on our next steps. This continues to be a critical time in police accountability.

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About the Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC)

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Download this Statement:

CPC Statement on the Death of George Floyd – June 1 2020 Download

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Proposed Changes to the CDP’s Disciplinary Matrix Policy

June 2020

The Community Police Commission (CPC) submitted recommendations that would make substantial changes to the Cleveland Division of Police’s (CDP) current disciplinary process.

The recommended improvements to the CDP’s Disciplinary Guidance Matrix outlines the changes to be made that would bring the Cleveland Division of Police closer to being into compliance with the consent decree than if the policy remained unchanged.

Improving the discipline policy continues to be a high priority for both the community and officers. It is important to the community that officers are held accountable for their actions and clear guidelines will let officers know that the way discipline is carried out will be consistent and fair.

The Cleveland Police Monitoring Team’s 2018 Police Officer Focus Group report states, “Officers believe that CDP’s administrators are perpetuating a culture of excessive and inconsistent discipline to make it appear that reform is taking place, as opposed to using discipline to teach and impose thoughtful accountability.”

If implemented, the CPC’s recommendations would effectively address the community’s and officer’s concerns by:

Clarifying existing violations which would reduce supervisors’ arbitrary disciplinary decisions.

Ensuring the creation, availability, and disclosure of proper documentation relevant to disciplinary decisions.

Narrows the use of discretion by limiting mitigating and aggravating factors to the most serious offenses.

Creating a new oversight committee tasked with making sure disciplinary outcomes are consistent.

The CPC’s proposed changes along with a draft showing how the new policy would look can be read below.

Read the CPC’s proposed Changes: CPC Changes to the Disciplinary Matrix GPO (pdf)

Read the new policy Draft: Draft CPC Model of Disciplinary Guidance GPO (pdf)

Road to Reform: 5 years after USDOJ consent decree, has federal oversight changed Cleveland Police?

In the News:

Road to Reform: 5 years after USDOJ consent decree, has federal oversight changed Cleveland Police?

Posted By: Sarah Buduson, News 5 Cleveland
Date: May 29, 2020

May marks 5 years since the City of Cleveland signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to allow a federal monitoring team to implement sweeping reforms after a 2014 USDOJ investigation found officers engaged in a “pattern and practice” of excessive force.

Since then, two experts News 5 spoke with said progress has been made, but critical work has yet to be completed.

Read the Article

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The CPC’s Work Continues During the Pandemic

May 5, 2020

This is an uncertain and worrying time for the citizens of Cleveland. We are still not through this emergency, but, as Governor DeWine said, in the coming months we will resume some of our normal day-to-day activities.

The work continues

The Community Police Commission will eventually resume our public meetings, but in the meantime there is still necessary work being done to help the City institute the reforms mandated by the Consent Decree. We are still channeling community input into policy recommendations, including reforming the police disciplinary process. We are still working with our community partners to get vital feedback from the citizens of Cleveland, and to help advance necessary reforms.

Upcoming work groups

In the coming summer months we expect to start three new work groups that will focus on Officer Wellness, Youth, and a return to the Staffing Committee with a particular focus on Homicides. We also expect to reconvene the Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) Work Group in the early fall.
While we expect to publish our recommendations for the disciplinary process soon, the Pursuit Policy recommendations are on hold due to the pandemic. Additionally, during this time, we are still working on our own research and reports to evaluate the police reform accomplishments and needs to date.

Your feedback is needed!

Though we cannot meet in public in large gatherings for the foreseeable future, we still need your feedback to help inform policy recommendations. To that point, our standing Accountability Work Group finds that accountability is not just about Discipline but also Training.
The work group is currently evaluating the new training programs of the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP). We need your feedback as to how the training may have affected your day-to-day interaction(s) with CDP officers. To do that, please take a moment to complete this survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPC-CSS-2020.

Your feedback is vital to the success of police reform in Cleveland.

Thank you, and stay well.

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Sgt. Richard Jackson, Rev. Frederick Knuckles, Co-Chairs