How the Cleveland Community Police Commission handles resident appeals in police discipline cases came up again during a meeting last week.
On the agenda was an appeal from resident Antoine Tolbert, a Cleveland resident who said he was wrongfully arrested in 2022 for openly carrying a gun while walking on St. Clair Avenue. The community activist settled a civil lawsuit against the city for $85,000 and a partial apology in 2023.
Tolbert also filed a complaint against Sgt. Lance Henderson, the officer who arrested him, with the city’s Office of Professional Standards. The Office of Professional Standards investigates resident complaints against officers for misconduct and the Civilian Police Review Board decides the outcome.
That office’s investigation led to a 13-day suspension for Henderson, but Tolbert wasn’t satisfied and appealed the case to the Community Police Commission.
Commissioner Teri Wang has tried to get Tolbert’s appeal in front of the commission three times.
“Citizens have asked why we are not yet hearing cases,” said Wang.
Issue 24 promised changes to police oversight
Issue 24, passed by Cleveland voters in 2021, made significant changes to how residents oversee police accountability. The ballot measure changed the city’s charter to give residents – not police – final say when disciplining officers for behavior such as lack of service, biased policing and excessive force.
Previously, the Civilian Police Review Board and the Community Police Commission could only make recommendations on policies and officer discipline. Now, the charter explicitly gives both bodies the ability to overrule decisions made by police leadership. The commission has the final say in discipline cases that stem from civilian complaints.
Rolling out the new process hasn’t been smooth. It’s been more than two years, and the Civilian Police Review Board still doesn’t have a new manual detailing how the process should work. Without that, city lawyers have told the board members they can’t exercise their new powers.
The Community Police Commission is still working out its process for handling appeals. It’s received a few and declined to consider at least one.
Civilian board’s discipline reduced by safety official
In May of 2022, Henderson stopped and arrested Tolbert for carrying a gun in Glenville. Tolbert was on an armed patrol of the neighborhood as part of his work with New Era Cleveland, a community organization focused on unity, peace and security. In Ohio, it is legal to openly carry a firearm.
Henderson arrested Tolbert, who spent the night in jail, and cited him for several crimes. The charges were quickly dropped.
In May of 2023, the Civilian Police Review Board unanimously voted to discipline Henderson. The review board recommended that Henderson be held accountable for both the improper stop and the arrest of Tolbert.
In January, then-Safety Director Karrie Howard rolled back the board’s decision. Howard said Henderson was only responsible for the improper arrest. Howard issued the sergeant a 13-day suspension without pay but could have been suspended for longer or even fired.
Even if Howard had ruled that Henderson committed both the improper arrest and stop, it is unclear if it would have changed the length of the suspension. The Civilian Police Review Board never recommended a specific punishment for Henderson’s conduct.
In February, the Civilian Police Review Board voted to disagree with the safety director’s decision in writing. But that didn’t change the outcome.
Tolbert then asked the Community Police Commission to step in and review the case.
Community Police Commission struggles to move forward with Antoine Tolbert’s appeal
Wang has been insistent that the commission should move Tolbert’s appeal forward. Other commissioners have said they aren’t ready to hear the appeal because they are still waiting on records from the city.
“Just for clarification for the community and everyone else, the case is open. … We have been instructed to not move until we get all of the records so we can do this properly,” said John Adams, co-chair for the Community Police Commission, during the meeting.
Wang disagreed that the commission needs to wait for records and said that the commission should exert its full authority under the charter to hear Tolbert’s appeal.
“This involves an appeals case by a citizen – our core responsibility to the community – it has been two months. And there has been no movement from the commission,” said Wang.
Adams said the issue isn’t as simple as Wang contends. He said the commission has been working with the Department of Justice and the Police Monitoring Team to resolve the delay over this and other records requests with the city.
For several months, police oversight agencies – including the commission – have been trying to navigate the process of requesting records such as police reports and other documents with the city.
Tolbert presses commission to act
Wang accused Adams and the rest of the commission of “trying to bury this motion” for a fourth time. Wang has led all three previous attempts to move the appeal forward.
Another commissioner, Kyle Earley, asked if anyone had asked Tolbert directly for documents.
During public comment, Tolbert clarified what he wants to happen next with his appeal to the commission.
“I just want you to move forward. I want you to move forward swiftly,” Tolbert said. He also disagreed with Adams that the commission needs to wait on the city for records. There’s more than enough information for the commission to consider, according to Tolbert.
“There should be constant communication between the complainant and the commissioners … because I do have information,” said Tolbert.
To learn what else happened in this meeting, check out the coverage from Documenter Stésià Swain (live-tweet thread).
Suggested Reading
Framers of Issue 24 reflect on Community Police Commission’s first year
The framers of Issue 24 told Signal Cleveland about their frustrations with the CPC’s limited progress. They expressed hope as well.