CLEVELAND — The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office has released a draft of its after-action report following the May 30 riot that highlights some changes to its policies and procedures as well as how it will respond to similar events that occur in the future.
According to the draft, the sheriff’s office has partnered with FEMA to conduct mobile field force training. Currently, 45 deputies have already completed the training. Going forward, the department will conduct monthly training with partner agencies.
One of the issues that the sheriff’s office said it encountered during the protest was the availability of personal protective equipment since it was “stored in a room with minimal available keys.” Since then, each supervisor that is assigned to the Mobile Field Force Unit has been issued a key. Additionally, each deputy has also been issued their own set of PPE gear. This will enable the agency to decrease response time and make sure that all deputies are outfitted with the proper equipment, authorities said.
Another area that has been improved upon since the riots is how the department handles communications. During the May 30 riots, the sheriff’s office, Cleveland police, the SWAT team and other regional law enforcement officials had difficulty communicating with each other since they each used a dedicated frequency. To alleviate this, deputies now carry multiple radios, but one radio that could communicate over multiple channels would be a “valuable asset during large, multi-agency events," authorities said.
The SWAT team is now also using specialized headsets to help them communicate with each other in loud situations.
The department said it has also increased the number of instructors who are training deputies on how to use less-lethal weapons. It has also increased the number of less-lethal weapons that are readily available.
The sheriff’s office now has an arrest team that is assigned to the Justice Center to help with arrests.
The final report is expected to be released sometime next week.
Last month, 10 people were indicted for their roles in the May 30 riot. They face a slew of charges ranging from aggravated riot to breaking and entering.
Cleveland businesses reported that looters and rioters caused more than $6 million in damage when the peaceful protest turned violent.
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