CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the city's police officials held a news conference Wednesday morning to address concerns about traffic stop data after an analysis by News 5 Investigators and The Marshall Project.
Cleveland revealed significant racial disparities in the stops and searches conducted by Cleveland police in 2023.
READ MORE: Cleveland Police Stop and Search Black Drivers at Higher Rates Despite DOJ Oversight
"It would not only be unfair but also unethical for the city as well as the public to jump to conclusions without understanding the full scope and context around this topic and, more importantly, whether or not there are indeed any problems," Bibb said.
"Reacting too quickly at this juncture could have very severe consequences for the city and the public and for the men and women who are working hard to keep our streets safe and secure," he said.
Bibb said further analysis of the data by an independent third party is needed to determine whether officers were engaged in racial profiling or other problematic practices.
He said if the analysis reveals issues, "the public can rest assured that we will take corrective actions to address them."
Cleveland police searched Black people more than three times as often as white people during stops in 2023 — despite finding contraband at similar rates, a Marshall Project - Cleveland and WEWS News 5 analysis found.
The analysis examined the race of people stopped by Cleveland officers. It was developed using data the city was required to provide under a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015, following years of excessive force complaints and paying millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements and judgments for police misconduct.
Using records of nearly 17,000 police encounters, the analysis shows officers often used low-level offenses like broken tail lights or tinted windows to search Black people, who were stopped overall at twice the rate of white people.
