Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland

In January 2023, 13 people were sworn in on the Cleveland Community Police Commission and started training.  

The commission had existed since 2015, part of the consent decree between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice. But its role was advisory; it had no real authority over the Cleveland Division of Police. That changed in 2021, when voters passed Issue 24. That ballot initiative changed the City Charter to give the Community Police Commission (CPC) final say over police policy and discipline. 

The law took effect in 2022, though the commission is still not using its full authority. 

In 2023, the newly appointed commissioners learned about past commissions’ work and their role in police oversight in Cleveland. The group formed committees, put together a grants program, and created an 18-month plan for the work ahead in its first year. 

That work has at times been overshadowed by infighting and arguing with community members in public meetings and by delays in the kind of work people expected to see — review of disciplinary decisions and police policy.

Signal Cleveland talked with people who brought Issue 24 to the voters, with commission co-chairs, and with the city’s chief ethics officer about the commission’s first year. 

Signal background

The people who brought Issue 24 to the voters was critical of both the city and the commission. They said they are disappointed in commissioners’ behavior, and they accused the city of delaying the commission’s progress. 

Delante Thomas, the city’s chief ethics officer, said Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration wants to see the commission succeed. He also said commissioners have done a lot in their first year and deserve grace. 

Commission Co-chair John Adams said he hopes commissioners will focus more on the work this year, which should help the group regain the public’s trust. 

Everyone talked about the internal and public conflicts. But they all also expressed determination to make the law work the way voters intended.

“If the commission doesn’t succeed, that reflects on all of us,” Thomas told Signal Cleveland. 

A freelance reporter based in Arizona, Stephanie was the inaugural criminal justice reporter with Signal Cleveland until October 2024. She wrote about the criminal legal system, explaining the complexities and shedding light on injustices/inequities in the system and centering the experiences of justice-involved individuals, both victims and people who go through the criminal legal system and their families.