Date Filed: February 18, 2021
Notice Submitting 2021 Monitoring Plan filed by Hassan Aden:
“Pursuant to Paragraph 369 of the Consent Decree between the City of Cleveland (the “City”) and the United States, as ordered by this Court on June 12, 2015, the Monitoring Team respectfully submits the 2021 Monitoring Plan, attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Monitoring Plan,” “2021 Plan,” or “Plan”). The City and the Cleveland Division of Police (“CDP” or the “Division”) took the lead on crafting the Plan for the 2021 monitoring year. The Plan is geared toward effectively and efficiently implementing the Decree’s requirements. The Department of Justice and Monitoring Team both provided collaborative feedback.
The Plan details the deadlines and expectations based on the operational realities of the City, the Department of Justice, and the Monitoring Team, and represents the best forecast of how the year will progress. As recent years have shown, however, unanticipated external influences can significantly impact the workflow and the parties and the Monitoring Team will keep the Court apprised of necessary changes.
Notably, the name of the Plan, the “2021 Monitoring Plan” has been changed from the prior naming convention, which would have been “Fifth Year Monitoring Plan.” This change was made to clearly identify the relevant time period by calendar year, which is much easier to track for the Court, the parties, the public, and the Monitoring Team. The Monitoring Team is also aligning its semiannual reports with the calendar year for the same reasons. So, the Plan covers the 2021 calendar year, with a few deadlines early in 2022 to ensure continuity and momentum.
Some notable work scheduled for this year includes:
- Training. Finalization of the comprehensive 2021 Training Plan, part of which includes finishing the development of critical trainings such as the District Awareness Training, Data Collection Trainings in Search and Seizure and Community and Problem-oriented Policing (“CPOP”), and implementing the trainings Division-wide. Unit-specific training, such as Internal Affairs and the Force Investigations Team (FIT), are also scheduled for this year, and on-going training in Crisis Intervention. The 2022 Training Curricula is also scheduled for development during 2021.
- Policy Development. The 2021 Plan calls for development of the Performance Evaluation Policy that will provide consistent and procedurally just reviews for employees, the Officer Intervention Program Policy, which, in conjunction with officer-wellness systems, provide intervention support for officers exhibiting potentially problematic behavior, and the continuing review of CDP policies based on lessons learned. For this final category – the close review of Crowd Management and associated Use of Force Policies will be at the top of the list.
- Assessments. The Plan sets out an assessment schedule, with the Monitoring Team assessing Use of Force applications and OPS/CRB investigations using rigorous methodologies applied to a statistically valid sample of cases, as set forth in Dkt. No. 333. Additionally, per the Court’s June 12, 2020, Order at Dkt. No. 317, the Monitoring Team will assess FRB operations to determine if it can “effectively carry out all of the duties that the Consent Decree expressly prescribes.” The Monitoring Team will also continue to update the Court in semiannual reports.
Because the 2021 Monitoring Plan sets clear goals as the Parties continue the Decree’s implementation, the Monitoring Team and Parties together respectfully request that the Court approve the Updated Fourth Year Monitoring Plan and order it effective immediately.”
Read the Document: