CLEVELAND — Members of the new federal monitoring team overseeing Cleveland police reforms met with Cleveland City Council's Public Safety Committee for the first time Wednesday morning.
Karl Racine, the new lead monitor, and Professor Ayesha Bell Hardaway, who served as interim lead monitor, were among the monitoring team members present at the meeting.
Racine, Washington D.C.'s first elected Attorney General, was appointed to take over as the third Federal Monitor by U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. in April.
"The progress must be acknowledged, but there still is a lot of work that lies ahead," Racine said during the meeting.
He praised the city for finalizing new policies, improving the quality of training, and hiring Dr. Leigh Anderson to oversee the implementation of the city's federal consent decree.
However, Cleveland still has work to do when it comes to holding police officers accountable for misconduct. Racine noted there is no administrator in the Office of Professional Standards, and no one has filled the position of Police Inspector General for two years. He has also noted there is a backlog of more than 150 cases involving allegations of police misconduct and a need to increase community engagement in the reform process.
During the meeting, council members peppered the new team with questions about how the city can reach full compliance with the consent decree and how much reforms will cost taxpayers.
The team was also asked about whether police reforms will impact crime rates. Racine answered, "I have no doubt that when the city gets to a place where it has obtained and earned substantial compliance... that what will occur is that the public will gain trust in law enforcement, much greater than in years past, and I have no doubt, because the evidence shows this, that where there is trust from the community, and law enforcement, and with each other, that enhances public safety."
The City of Cleveland entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2015 after a DOJ investigation found the department engaged in a "pattern or practice of excessive force."
The DOJ investigation was conducted at the request of former Mayor Frank Jackson. He made the request after several incidents involving excessive force, including a 2012 high-speed chase that left two unarmed people dead.
