Karrie Howard has resigned from his position as Public Safety Director of Cleveland after the Assistant Safety Director was involved in a crash in a city-owned vehicle last Saturday in Warrensville Heights.
Jakimah Dye’s driving privileges were suspended, and an internal investigation was launched after she rear-ended another vehicle on the afternoon of Feb. 17. Warrensville Heights Police told News 5 that there were children in the car at the time of the crash.
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Public Safety Director Karrie Howard responded to the Warrensville Heights crash scene. A city spokesperson says as her supervisor, it's protocol for Howard to take her for drug and alcohol testing.
On Friday, the City of Cleveland announced that Howard resigned from his position, effective immediately. Howard's resignation letter to Mayor Justin Bibb reads:
I am writing to inform you of a significant decision that I have made regarding my role as the Chief Director of Public Safety for the City of Cleveland. After much contemplation and deliberation, I have chosen to resign from this position. Serving the City of Cleveland has been a profound honor. I am appreciative of the opportunity to serve.
Police Chief Dornat “Wayne” Drummond is filling the role of Interim Public Safety Director, the city said.
Deputy Chief Dorothy Todd will be promoted to the permanent role of Chief of Police. Todd has served the division for 20 years.
Reaction to department changes
Following news of his resignation and safety department shake-up, Public Safety Chair Councilman Mike Polensek (Ward 8) stated, “I’ve worked with Interim Safety Director Drummond for more than thirty years and I trust he will continue his work to make Cleveland a safer city.”
Council President Blaine A. Griffin (Ward 6) said, “Chief Todd and I have worked collaboratively over the years on many pressing and sensitive safety issues in Cleveland. I look forward to building upon the relationship.”
“We just wish him well,” Griffin said.
Griffin said he spoke with Howard Friday but said Howard didn’t talk about his reason for resigning.
“No the only thing he said was it was a privilege and honor to work for the citizens of the city of Cleveland and a privilege and honor to work with council and all I can say is he’s had an exemplary public service career as a person in the military as an attorney and private prosecutor,” Griffin said.
Both Griffin and Polensek said they were surprised by Howard’s resignation.
“I am assuming we’re going to have a good working relationship with Chief Drummond, excuse me, New Safety director Drummond and it’s going to be a hard one after all these years and the new chief Dorothy Todd but we’re here to work with them,” Polensek said.
Community activist Kareem Henton with Black Lives Matter Cleveland wants to hear from Bibb himself, who wasn’t made available for interviews.
“I think people need an explanation as to why and perhaps some assurances that he would take these things seriously in the future and perhaps to let us know why it is he won’t be doing a nationwide search,” Henton said.
A city spokesperson said the mayor is happy to discuss the changes and that they’re hoping to do something when both Chief Todd and Chief Drummond are sworn in.
Howard's history
Howard was appointed as the city's public safety director in June 2020 by former Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
Prior to his appointment, Howard was the city's chief prosecutor.
Howard oversaw the police department as it hemorrhaged police officers and struggled to recruit new cadets throughout the pandemic and after protests against police violence.
News 5 Investigators found 682 police officers left the department between Jan. 2020 and Dec. 2023.
RELATED: Cleveland Division of Police reducing number of police officers with new budget
Despite pay raises and other incentives, the department remains understaffed.
As of January 2024, the department was 323 officers short.
For the second year in a row, the mayor's budget proposal calls for a reduction in the number of officers on the city's force.
The 2024-25 proposal would reduce the number of officers from 1,498 to 1,350.
For years, Cleveland's budget called for 1,640 police officers.
Previous controversy
One year ago, Howard was criticized for controversial comments he made about Irish police in Cleveland during a public safety discussion.
“I can point to history where it works in this country,” said Howard. “Irish at the time were not considered white, the Irish flooded the police departments, the Irish flooded fire departments, the Irish flooded safety forces, to the point that we have bagpipes and kilts and all this green when we celebrate it. When we see a problem, when we talk about rebuilding, we are at a critical time when we can absolutely rebuild."
Those comments resulted in the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association holding a vote of no confidence in him on Feb. 13, 2023.
Watch our report from last year:
