During a city council meeting Monday night, Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail announced plans to hold “listening sessions” to improve relationships between community members and police after an exclusive 5 On Your Side investigation revealed serious red flags about officers’ use of force.
RELATED: Red Flags: Euclid’s Use of Force
Mayor Gail gave few details about the sessions, including how many will be held or when the sessions will start.
Gail said she is “continuously working” to improve the police department, but ignored questions about changes to the department.
We found less than 20 percent of the city’s officers were responsible for more than 80 percent of the uses of force between January 2016 and June 2018.
The officers involved in the highest numbers of use of force incidents include Michael Amiott. We found Amiott was involved in 17 incidents, the seventh highest number of any officer within the department.
Gail fired Amiott after video of him punching Richard Hubbard III during a traffic stop went viral.
However, an arbitrator awarded Amiott his job back, with conditions, two weeks ago.
Gail said she is “disappointed in that decision” and it is now her responsibility to make sure Amiott has proper training and supervision before he’s allowed to return to duty.
Several concerned citizens attended the meeting to express concern over Amiott’s reinstatement and findings from News 5’s investigation.
Cassandra McDonald, President, Euclid NAACP, said the department needs to re-examine its policies and procedures to build trust with citizens.
Euclid resident Dr. Richard T. Montgomery said he has “little faith” in Gail’s leadership.
Shajuan Gray, who filed a federal lawsuit last month after she was dragged out of her apartment in her bath towel by Officer James Aoki and arrested over a noise complaint, also attended Monday’s city council meeting.
Gray said the city should do more to investigate officers’ actions and hold them accountable when they violated citizens’ rights.
You can watch a portion of the meeting below:
