Three years after Clevelanders voted to give residents – not police – final say over police discipline, the city is one step closer to delivering on its promise.
The Department of Justice and the Police Monitoring Team have approved drafts of operating manuals that would guide civilian-led police reform efforts in cases involving resident complaints. These manuals explain how to investigate police misconduct and discipline officers and dispatchers.
Now, the final step is for the Civilian Police Review Board to vote to approve the new manuals, according to a city spokesperson. Once approved, the manuals could not be changed without court approval while the city is under consent decree.
Cleveland’s consent decree:
The consent decree is an agreement between Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice that requires police reforms. It came after a federal investigation that found a “pattern and practice” of police officers violating the rights of residents and using excessive force. The city and the federal government signed the agreement in 2015.
The vote is scheduled for October, according to Office of Professional Standards Administrator Marcus Perez. There will also be “extensive training” on the manuals, he said.
The review board typically meets on the second Tuesday of every month at Cleveland City Hall and streamed live on YouTube.
In 2021, Clevelanders overwhelmingly voted to pass Issue 24 to give residents a voice when disciplining police. Changes to the city’s charter shifted that power to two groups – the Community Police Commission and the Civilian Police Review Board. Both already existed but could only make recommendations to police leadership.
The Civilian Police Review Board makes decisions about police discipline. The board also oversees the Office of Professional Standards (OPS), which takes and investigates complaints about officer behavior. The review board decides whether complaints merit some sort of discipline. Complaints that involve potential crimes are handled separately by the Internal Affairs unit of the Cleveland Division of Police.
Civilian Police Review Board set to gain more power over police discipline
In February, city officials told Signal Cleveland that the manuals had to be approved before the Civilian Police Review Board could use its authority to overrule decisions made by police leadership.
In the meantime, the city’s safety directors and police chiefs have been free to override discipline from the board. Police leadership has had the ability to soften the review board’s decision either by lessening charges or dismissing complaints entirely, according to records obtained by Signal Cleveland.
If approved, the new manual would give the Civilian Police Review Board the ability to overturn discipline decisions made by police leadership. Under the current manuals, the safety director or chief of police can depart from – or disagree with – the review board’s decision. That could finally change.
City officials said the broad changes outlined in Issue 24 were woven into the 2015 federal consent decree. But getting sign offs on the oversight procedures – how it should work – has been trickier.
“It is an intricate process, and it takes time to get right,” Carlos Johnson, assistant law director for the Police Accountability Team, told Signal Cleveland in February.
After the vote, the manuals will go into effect within 15 days, according to a draft of the review board’s new manual.
Here’s how the new process would work if the manual is approved:
- Police leadership would presume that the Civilian Police Review Board’s discipline decision is correct.
- Police leadership could still disagree with the review board and put the “clear and convincing” evidence or reasons that support their view in writing for the review board to consider.
- After reviewing the safety director or chief of police’s reasoning, the review board could vote to enforce its original decision.
- Police leadership would have to “comply with the [review] Board’s determination.”
Note: This story has been updated to include when the vote is set to take place.
