U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver on Thursday ordered the city to give the Consent Decree Monitoring Team and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) access to Cleveland’s public safety databases. 

The city cut their access to its databases last year, citing a state law that limits that access to criminal justice administration employees. That data is dispersed throughout the city’s databases, officials said. 

The monitoring team argued that it needs access to the databases to evaluate the city’s progress on reforms agreed to in the consent decree, an agreement between the city and the DOJ. The monitoring team and DOJ attorneys said the databases they’re requesting access to are the city’s, not the state’s Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS). 

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. 

Karl Racine, the consent decree monitor, said his team’s job is to review and observe, “not just listen and trust, but verify” that the city is making the necessary changes to comply with the agreement. Cutting access to documents is causing delays which are costing the city, as it continues to pay almost $1 million a year for the monitoring team, he said.

A DOJ attorney said that after seven years of providing access, the city “decided on its own that the consent decree” doesn’t override the state law. 

A win-win situation

Carlos Johnson, assistant law director for the Police Accountability Team, said Cleveland wants the DOJ and the monitoring team to have unredacted access to the records. 

“The city is in an unenviable position,” Johnson said. Complying with the consent decree could lead to the police department losing access to LEADS data if state officials decide the department is breaking state law, he said. 

“These conflicting guidances create a conflict between state law and federal law,” Johnson said. A judge’s ruling would provide the city with additional legal protection from the state, he said. 

Judge Oliver sided with the DOJ but said his decision doesn’t mean the city loses.  

The judge said both parties want the same thing, for the monitoring team and DOJ to have access to the databases. He gave the city 14 days to provide that access. 

“The best protection I can give is that I have specifically ordered that these systems be made available,” he said. He told the city to let him know right away if the police department is in jeopardy of losing access to LEADS data. 

The judge also approved a change in who the city’s inspector general, a position created under the consent decree, will report to. The inspector general will now report to the public safety director, not the police chief. The inspector general position has been vacant for a long time. 

Judge Oliver is expected to hold a semi-annual hearing in April where the city and the monitoring team will provide updates on consent decree progress.