CLEVELAND — The 15th Semiannual Report written by the Independent Monitoring Team overseeing Cleveland police reforms said Cleveland has moved away from "unnecessary legal squabbling" to "focus on fulfilling the hard work required by the Consent Decree."
In a letter from Monitor Karl Racine, he noted the Monitoring Team has regained access to relevant databases and said Cleveland is once again sharing the materials and information needed to oversee the city's progress. His letter also said Cleveland has "nearly eliminated" the backlog of records requested by the Community Police Commission and Office of Professional Standards.
The report said the city "saw no downgrades and several upgrades" in terms of its performance, including "commendable" efforts to better execute the principles of Community and Problem-Oriented Policing (CPOP.)
Other areas where progress was noted include:
- Crisis intervention
- Accountability
- Officer Support
- Transparency
Monitor Karl Racine noted the city has created an open data portal to help citizens track crime. He also praised the expansion of the Police Accountability Team (PAT), which now has four team members. The teams works to help the city achieve federally mandated reforms.
The latest report represents a significant shift in the Federal Monitoring Team's assessment of Cleveland's cooperation with the team since the 14th Semiannual Report, which was released in April.
Monitor Karl Racine issued a scathing indictment of the city's progress in his previous report, writing the city made "little progress and "by any measure, this static performance— akin to running in place— is insufficient."
Racine placed the blame on Mayor Justin Bibb and his administration for the "unwarranted delays," which he said cost the city and its taxpayers "time, money, and progress."
Earlier this year, News 5 reported on how the city withheld access to data and documents from the monitoring team until U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., the federal judge overseeing the city's consent decree, issued a ruling forcing Cleveland to comply with the monitoring team's requests.
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Over the next six months, the monitoring teams will continue assessing the city's progress in three critical areas: search & seizure, crisis intervention and use of force.
"These areas are really important because its the reason Cleveland got into the consent decree in the first place," said Dr. Leigh Anderson, who was hired by Bibb to serve as the Executive Director of the Police Accountability Team.
The Cleveland Division of Police has been under federal oversight since May 2015 after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found Cleveland Police engaged in a "pattern or practice" of excessive force and raised concerns about additional civil rights violations.
