Nov. 20: Cleveland Community Police Commission
Covered by Documenter Regina Samuels (live-tweets)
Public commenters call drone policy ‘intentionally vague’
For months, the Cleveland Community Police Commission has tinkered with what guidelines to set for the use of drones by police. Now the commission has settled on a policy — but not without hearing criticism from public commenters ahead of the commission’s vote on Nov. 20.
Under the policy, Cleveland police can use drones for visual support in several contexts. Those include:
- Mass casualty incidents, such as a mass shooting or a burning building
- Disaster management
- Missing persons incidents
- Rescue operations
Although one section of the policy bans the use of drones for monitoring “individuals or groups within large gatherings,” another section would have allowed for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-compliant observations of large gatherings “for the purpose of ensuring public safety.”
Lucas Waggoner, a Mentor resident, called the policy “intentionally vague” and said it contained “easily exploitable language.”
Others argued that the policy, as written, could allow drones to surveil protests and religious gatherings. One commenter, Shejuti Wahed, said she is “concerned by the growing levels of surveillance by our law enforcement.”
“Reject the over-surveillance of the people, because the people should come first and not the state,” Wahed, a student at Case Western Reserve University, said.
The commission removed the exception for “FAA-compliant” drone observations of crowds, then approved the policy. Commissioner Teri Wang was the sole “no” vote.
“You are endangering people with this policy,” Wang said.
What’s next? The commission sent the policy to the Police Monitoring Team, which sent it to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval, according to Commissioner Piet van Lier.
UPDATE
Cleveland police violate drone policy to monitor protestors outside Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s house
Police training and corrective action policies also move forward
Although the police commission can alter some aspects of police training, certain aspects cannot be changed, according to Police Training Committee Chair Charles Donaldson. The commission did approve several training programs, including a new training on bias-free policing designed for supervisors.
The commission also passed a corrective action policy related to police discipline. Wang urged the commission to hold the vote until a future meeting.
Retired Cleveland police sergeant Richard Jackson – who advocated for Issue 24 – thanked the commission for passing the policy.
“Officers across the spectrum — especially in the Cleveland Division of Police — have been begging for something like this,” Jackson said. “I can’t tell you how important tonight was.”
Read the live-tweets from Documenter Regina Samuels:
Watch the full meeting on Cleveland Community Police Commission’s YouTube.
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