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CPC Launches Online Educational Resource About History of Cleveland Police Reforms

February 16, 2022

Last November, Clevelanders prioritized public safety and police reform when they adopted Issue 24 and Elected Mayor Justin Bibb. As Mayor Bibb moves forward with his plans to implement Issue 24 and increase public safety. His office recently released a transition plan addressing, “a need for increased awareness centered around community safety and the role of first responders.”

Today, the Community Police Commission (CPC) launched an educational resource on its website to help achieve this goal. Entitled the “100 Years Project”, our program aims to enhance the dialogue of safety and the role of policing in the future by closely examining the past. The “100 Years Project” is now live on the CPC’s website at clecpc.org/100-years-project and dives deep into the city of Cleveland’s police reform efforts over the past 100 years.

Recommendations for how to make the Cleveland Division of Police more responsive to crime and the needs of community can be found as far back as 1922 when the Cleveland Foundation first studied this issue. The foundation released a groundbreaking report that year calling for major changes to the way police conducted its business and tackled a growing crime problem in Cleveland.

In the decades since, dozens of reports have followed which contained hundreds of recommendations that have gone largely ignored or have brought only short lasting results to the Cleveland Division of Police.

“Moving forward requires us to look back and examine why police reform over 100 years hasn’t been sustainable.” says CPC Commissioner LaToya Logan, who helped champion this project.

Persistent problems with high crime that ran concurrently with biased policing, police brutality, police misconduct, community trust, and officer morale have all been well documented decades before the DOJ investigated the Cleveland Division of Police in 2014 which led to the current Consent Decree.

By looking into Cleveland’s past, the CPC hopes to help the community gain a better understanding of what policing practices have been successful, what issues exist, and what lessons still need to be learned to move forward in creating a more sustainable policing model for the future. This will help us achieve the Mayor’s goal of a safer Cleveland for everyone.

The project is organized chronologically and by topic in a way that community members can easily access information. It will be continuously updated as research continues. The CPC encourages all interested individuals and organizations to join the CPC in taking a deeper dive into this information. Contact CPC Senior Policy Analyst, Ryan Walker, at rwalker@clecpc.org to get involved.

Download News Release as PDF

CPC Statements & News

CPC Congratulates Mayor-Elect Justin Bibb

November 5, 2021

The Cleveland Community Police Commission congratulates Mayor-Elect Justin Bibb on his historic win. The members of the existing Commission and its staff are excited for the future of Cleveland and are committed to continuing the reform efforts started by the Consent Decree. We stand ready to assist Mayor-Elect Bibb in any way we can as he builds his transition plan and works towards implementation of Issue 24.

Cleveland Community Police Commission

CPC Statements & News

CPC to Survey Cleveland Community about Police Interactions

For Immediate Release:
September 27, 2021

(CLEVELAND, OH) — What are your experiences with policing in Cleveland? The Community Police Commission (CPC) seeks to find out through a survey that asks anyone who lives, works, or visits the city of Cleveland about their interactions with Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) officers. CDP employees are also encouraged to complete the survey.

The CPC’s Community Satisfaction Survey is available online at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/cpc-css-2021, and has been mailed this month to a random sampling of 4,700 households in Cleveland.

“The community’s voice is what matters the most when evaluating police reform,” says CPC Commissioner LaToya Logan. “The Commission’s survey asks about policies and procedures, but most importantly, it asks about police interactions with the community.”

In the six years the city of Cleveland has been under a Consent Decree with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), many updates to written CDP policies and procedures have been made. The goal of the survey is to help the CPC assess if CDP training on these changes has been noticed in practice by the community.

This is the second annual Community Satisfaction Survey conducted by the CPC, which was developed in 2020 with the assistance of the Tesser Group, a data analytics firm. The findings of the 2020 community survey and future surveys will help the CPC and citizens of Cleveland in tracking overall progress of police reform in the city.

Ways to Complete the 2021 Community Survey:

Direct Survey Link – www.surveymonkey.com/r/cpc-css-2021

CPC’s Website – www.clecpc.org/get-involved

Call (216) 505-5920 or email info@clecpc.org to request a paper copy of the survey, or download a pdf of the survey here.
Completed surveys can be returned by mail or hand delivered to the CPC’s office at:
3631 Perkins Avenue, 3rd Floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114

The deadline to submit feedback in the survey is October 31, 2021. A report of survey findings will be released in early 2022, if not earlier on the CPC’s website. For questions or more information, please contact the Community Police Commission at (216) 505-5920 or info@clecpc.org.

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Download: CPC to Survey Cleveland Community about Police Interactions (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

CPC Statement on Justice for Desmond Franklin

July 30, 2021

At this moment our thoughts are with the family of Desmond Franklin, who was killed by an off duty Cleveland police officer on April 9th 2020. Today would have been his 24th birthday. We believe justice has still not been served. For his birthday this year, we call upon the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor to reopen the case and ensure that all evidence is presented to the Grand Jury fairly and as the law prescribes.

The conflicting information provided by witnesses, including a young man who was with Desmond when he was killed, lead us to believe that our justice system did not work as designed in this case. There is a need for additional analyses of the videos of the encounter between the two cars and of the off-duty police officer’s 911 call.

Expert analyses can determine the timing of the call, the five shots fired by the off-duty officer, and the likelihood that Desmond was facing the officer when he was struck by a bullet from the off-duty officer’s gun. Justice must be based upon expert and impartial analyses and not conclusions reached by the presenting prosecutors based upon the prior illegal conduct of Desmond and his companion.

If the analysis has already been conducted, then transparency is lacking. If Desmond and his friend stole two cases of Faygo, they deserved to be prosecuted. However, theft is not a capital offense, and Desmond did not deserve to die as a result of an error in judgement. The community needs to be satisfied that Desmond’s death was not the result of an unfortunate encounter with an off-duty police officer who overreacted and used excessive force.

Reopening the case and providing transparency to the public until its conclusion is the best course of action to rebuild trust in the process of justice.

The Cleveland Community Police Commission

CPC Statements & News

CPC Requests Independent Investigation into the Police Shooting Death of Arthur Keith

The following letter was sent via U.S. mail and email on July 16, 2021.

Friday, July 16, 2021

Kristen Clarke
Assistant Attorney General
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division,
Special Litigation Section
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20530

Bridget M. Brennan
Acting U.S. Attorney Office of the United States Attorney
801 West Superior Avenue, Suite 400
Cleveland, OH 44113-1852

Dear Ms. Clarke and Ms. Brennan,

On November 13, 2020, a police officer employed by the Cleveland Metropolitan Police Department in front of the King-Kennedy housing complex shot and killed Arthur Keith, a former resident of the housing complex. Mr. Keith was shot in the back as he fled from the police.

An investigation of the homicide was conducted by the Cleveland Division of Police. Evidence was presented to a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury by a representative of the Ohio Attorney General who recommended to the grand jury that they return a NO Bill in the case. The only witness to appear at the grand jury was the officer who shot Mr. Keith. According to Attorney General Yost, no other witnesses were found. Moreover, the only video released by the Attorney General or the CDP or CMHAPD did not include the actual shooting.

Newspaper reports since the shooting have quoted local youthful residents who claimed to witness the shooting and tell a different story from the version told by the officer who killed Mr. Keith and which was repeated by the Ohio Attorney General. The Director of the Boys and Girls Club at King-Kennedy, Mr. Richard Starr, has told the co-chair of the Cleveland Community Police Commission that the youths who witnessed the shooting were never interviewed by investigating police officers nor the representatives of the Ohio Attorney General. Mr. Starr reported that the youths’ account of the shooting is opposite of the official version offered by the Ohio Attorney General, CDP and CMHAPD representatives.

Further, in a lawsuit brought by Ideastream Public Media to obtain video of the shooting, CMHAPD did not respond that the video over the spot of the shooting was inoperable nor that they had no dash cam footage. They only requested a delay.

THEREFORE, the Cleveland Community Police Commission believes that the investigation into the death of Arthur Keith was woefully inadequate and resulted in a denial of Mr. Keith and of Mr. Keith’s family’s civil rights. The Commission respectfully requests that the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and the Department of Justice initiate an independent investigation of the killing of Arthur Keith and the investigation of such killing.

Sincerely,

The Cleveland Community Police Commission

View the Letter: CPC Letter Requesting Investigation into Death of Arthur Keith -7-16-21 (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

CPC Recommends Reinstatement of Professor Ayesha Hardaway as Deputy Monitor

The following letter was sent via email to Monitor Hassan Aden on June 25, 2021.

June 25, 2021

Monitor Aden,

After thoughtful deliberation and consultation with community members, we are writing to recommend the reinstatement of Professor Ayesha Hardaway to your compliance team as the Deputy Monitor.

Professor Hardaway is unrivaled in her local connections to community groups and subject matter expertise regarding constitutional policing. She stood on her principles and many groups and individuals here in Cleveland have lifted her up for doing so. These principals embody the spirit of the Consent Decree and all that it hopes to achieve.

As the entity charged with leveraging the wishes of the people to effect changes in this process we ask that you reconsider your decision. As a servant of the people and the court we know you understand how important it is to the integrity of the Consent Decree to ensure the will of the community is not only heard but in fact, drives the process.

We look forward to our meeting in the near future.

Sincerely,

The Cleveland Community Police Commission

View the Letter: CPC Letter to Monitor Aden to Reinstate Professor Hardaway (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

CPC Requests DOJ to Reopen Civil Rights Investigation into the Homicide of Tamir Rice

The following letter was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and to the Office of the United Stated Attorney on May 10, 2021.

May 10, 2021

Dear Ms. Karlan and Ms. Brennan,

The Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC), in solidarity with the Rice family and others throughout Ohio, request that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) re-open the investigation into the homicide of Tamir Rice.

Over the past month, Cleveland’s media outlets and others have reported what may have been “political interference” into the investigation by the previous administration. It is our belief that the Rice family deserves a fair and unbiased review of the circumstances that led to Tamir’s death free from political influence. Regardless of the outcome, it is the principle of equal treatment under the law that must prevail in this circumstance.

Sincerely,

The Cleveland Community Police Commission

View the Letter: CPC Letter to DOJ to Re-Open Tamir Rice Civil Rights Investigation (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

CPC Submits Recommendations on CDP Vehicle Pursuit Policy

Proposed changes focus on incorporating best practices to increase safety, improve transparency

For Immediate Release:
September 1, 2020

CLEVELAND – On August 31, the Community Police Commission (CPC) submitted its vehicle pursuit policy recommendations to the City and Cleveland Division of Police.

Community concerns regarding the danger vehicle pursuits pose to the public and the pursuit related death of a 13 year old girl in December of 2019 led the CPC to take a look at existing policy.

The CPC recognizes the CDP’s 2015 effort to update the vehicle pursuit policy and acknowledge that the current policy is generally in line with many national and local Ohio policies that existed during that time. In response to public concerns, the CPC concluded that five years is a reasonable amount of time to consider making several updates to enhance previous efforts in this area.

The CPC’s recommendations were informed by community feedback and existing research on best practices currently followed by other law enforcement agencies.

The CPC’s recommendations center on three key areas:

Refining when an officer can use an authorized emergency vehicle to pursue a suspect and incorporating additional best practices for these pursuits;
Defining training standards and limiting officers who are authorized to pursue to “sufficiently trained officers” only;
Outlining criteria for reporting pursuit data to the public.

Read the CPC’s recommendations, explanation of proposed changes, and letter to Chief Williams here.

Implementing the CPC’s proposed changes to the current pursuit policy will show the CDP is listening to the community’s concerns and actively making changes to further build community trust and confidence in the Cleveland Division of Police.

The CPC looks forward to continuing a dialogue with the City and CDP about these recommendations.

Read the Press Release: CPC Recommendations on CDP Vehicle Pursuit Policy – Sept 2020 (pdf)

CPC Statements & News

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

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