CLEVELAND — Documents obtained by News 5 Investigators show Fourth District Commander Ralph Valentino offered cash incentives in exchange for arrests in break-ins at local Save a Lot stores last year.
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According to the D4 Weekly Supervisor Meeting notes, Valentino asked detectives, the Violent Crime Reduction Team, and vice units to "provide special attention to Sav(e)-A-Lot locations" at 6501 Harvard and 14301 Kinsman "in connection with recent break-ins."
The meeting notes then said, "Per Commander Valentino, there is a $500 cash reward for any arrests."
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An internal affairs investigation into Valentino's conduct remains ongoing, according to Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz, Public Information Officer, Cleveland Division of Police.
Diaz did not know if any officers were paid.
News 5 Investigators requested an on-camera interview with Chief Dorothy Todd.
In an email, Diaz replied, "At this time, the Internal Affairs investigation is ongoing; therefore, Chief Todd is unable to provide a comment.
"However, she can confirm that supervisors are not authorized to offer cash incentives," he wrote.
'Sounds like a bounty'
News 5 Investigators showed the document to John Adams, co-chair of the Cleveland Police Community Commission, which provides civilian oversight.
"It sounds like a bounty," he said.
"There's also an ethical issue there," he said. "I don't think it should be done at all."
Traffic citation contest
This is not the first time Valentino has proposed offering cash bonuses to officers.
News 5 Investigators told you last fall about his idea for a traffic citation contest:
RELATED: Should Cleveland police receive cash prizes for issuing more tickets?
Officers who wrote the most tickets would be entered into a "monthly drawing for a cash prize."
At the time, a CPD spokesperson said the proposal "never was, didn't come to be."
Not the top pick
Adams said Valentino should never have been put in charge of Cleveland's Fourth District, the city's largest and busiest police district.
He said the police failed to solicit input from the CPC when filling the opening, as required by the city's charter.
Adams also shared a document showing Valentino was not the top pick for the job.
No district commanders selected him as their first pick.
Only Todd, who was a district commander at the time, selected Valentino as their second pick for the position.
Cleveland Safety Director Wayne Drummond, who was police chief at the time, recommended the officer selected by district commanders and Valentino.
It is unclear why Valentino was promoted.
"There's a process that was done for this position and, at a certain point, candidates had to be ranked and that top candidate was not promoted," Adams said.
"It tells me that maybe this isn't fully merit-based," he said. "It isn't fully based on the process that was in place, that there's something else, perhaps something more personal, that is affecting how these people are being promoted to commander positions."
Save A Lot
Crime-plagued Save A Lot stores in and around Cleveland last year.
"Over a four-month tenure, we had 23 different incidents of robberies and armed robberies," said Jerome Bouyer, Save A Lot vice-president of operations.
"They were being vandalized so often that the ROI of us staying there just didn't make sense," he said.
The meeting notes said Valentino discussed the $500 cash reward to officers at an April 11, 2024, meeting, when crime was rampant at Save A Lot stores.
Art McKoy, a community activist and founder of Black on Black Crime Inc., held a rally and asked local leaders for help after Save A Lot reached out to him about crime last year.
He said he is grateful that crime has fallen at Save A Lot stores.
But he was shocked by how Valentino incentivized officers to apprehend the criminals.
"I'm old school and that's a little... unusual for me to comprehend," he said. "It seems like to me that's just automatic police work."
"That's like bounty hunting," he said. "I don't like it."
News 5 Investigators requested an on-camera interview with Valentino and Capt. Jim O'Malley, president, FOP 8, for this report, but they declined our requests.
We also requested an interview with Delante Spencer Thomas, the city's chief ethics officer. In an email, a city spokesperson wrote that Thomas is "not available for an interview at this time."
