Cleveland’s Internal Affairs Unit investigates complaints of serious misconduct or possible crimes by Cleveland police employees. The unit also has a team that reviews incidents where officers use force against residents.
The unit can refer investigations for potential charges to the county prosecutor’s office. They can also refer them to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the U.S. Department of Justice.
The team does not investigate citizen complaints about police department employees–the independent Office of Professional Standards (OPS) handles those. If a person reports a possible crime to OPS, that office is supposed to refer the case to Internal Affairs.
What falls under misconduct investigated by Internal Affairs?
Internal Affairs can investigate possible crimes or anything that would violate a city ordinance or state or federal law. Internal affairs can also investigate possible civil rights violations, brutality, corruption, bias or discrimination. It can also investigate whether the use of force by an officer was inappropriate or illegal.
The unit only investigates current employees, not former employees. If an officer leaves the city during an investigation, the unit will complete its work and make a record for the public and future employers.
Who is in charge of Internal Affairs?
A superintendent heads the unit, which includes investigators, supervisors and an administrative assistant. The superintendent reports to the chief of police.
The superintendent can’t be a current law enforcement officer–they must be a civilian. They can have previous law enforcement experience.
In early 2024, Superintendent Christopher Viland held the job. He is a former suburban police chief and county sheriff and previously held Cleveland’s Police Inspector General job.
What does Internal Affairs have to do with the consent decree?
A U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Cleveland police found a “pattern and practice” of using excessive force by police.
The investigation also found problems with how the department investigated officer misconduct. That included complaints from residents and incidents where officers used force during a police stop or arrest.
Investigations often took a long time to complete, were incomplete or showed bias toward officers. They rarely resulted in discipline. Under Cleveland’s consent decree agreement, the unit must do “comprehensive, and timely investigations.”
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.
In October 2023, the team monitoring progress under the consent decree said the city had made significant progress in improving its investigation and discipline process. But it said it would take more work “to improve accountability processes and to demonstrate that these improvements are sustainable.”
How do Internal Affairs investigations work?
There are two parts of an internal affairs investigation: criminal and administrative. Why? When there’s a possibility of both employee discipline and criminal charges, the city must keep investigations and information separate. The person being investigated can’t be forced to give information to authorities that could be used against them.
When investigating a complaint, different internal affairs investigators handle the administrative and criminal parts. They are not supposed to communicate or share information.
What happens after an investigation?
Internal Affairs investigations can clear an officer or department employee of any wrongdoing. Investigations can also find that officers violated policies or rules or that an officer’s actions broke the law.
Officers who violate department policy can be disciplined, ranging from a verbal or written warning or suspension to firing. Discipline can be appealed and, under union contracts, go to an independent arbitrator. That person can uphold or overturn the discipline. Investigations can also be forwarded to prosecutors, who can file criminal charges or ask a grand jury of citizens to consider charges.
Internal Affairs investigates some cases where police use force against residents
Officers have to document it when they use force.
Members of the Internal Affairs unit are part of a group called the Force Investigation Team, which also includes officers who investigate homicides, process crime scenes and keep records.
The team investigates when police from Cleveland or outside agencies use a level of force that could cause serious injuries, hospitalization, loss of consciousness or death. This includes any time officers use a neck hold, strike someone in the head with a fist or other object, or use a Taser more than three times on a person or for one period longer than 15 seconds.
The team also investigates when an officer fires their gun.
If a person dies during an incident with police, the city asks the Cuyahoga County Sheriff to handle the criminal investigation. The FIT team does the administrative investigation. Police supervisors investigate less serious use of force.
