海角破解版

Advocates of civilian police oversight in Cleveland are betting this is the right time for a dramatic overhaul of the way officer discipline is handled. And they鈥檙e hoping voters agree.

The idea is to strengthen the police oversight bodies that already exist in Cleveland, first by making the Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC) permanent.

The CPC was created by the 2015 consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department and the group could expire when the decree does 鈥� possibly sometime next year. But a proposed amendment to Cleveland鈥檚 city charter would make it permanent and secure funding for the 13-member panel.

Rachael Collyer, program director for the Ohio Student Association, said the idea for a charter amendment was first proposed by family members of people killed by Cleveland police.

鈥淎nd we need to have something beyond a consent decree because having been in multiple consent decrees we know they aren鈥檛 a solution, in and of themselves,鈥� Collyer said.

The CPC would have ultimate oversight over police discipline and policies. Right now, the director of public safety makes final decisions. The commission鈥檚 yearly budget would be at least $1 million and funding for grants would be made available every year.

The amendment also would expand the authority of the Office of Professional Standards, which investigates civilian complaints against officers, and the Civilian Police Review Board, which recommends discipline based on those investigations.

And it would require the dismissal of officers who use discriminatory language while on the job.

鈥淚f there were actual accountability for those officers beforehand, then there would be more people who would be still here with us,鈥� said Prentiss Henry, one of the organizers of the campaign and co-executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.

Those ideas have gotten little support from city leadership so far.

鈥淚 guess what they鈥檙e talking about is [the Community Police Commission] would become the police chief,鈥� Cleveland Mayor Jackson said shortly after Citizens for a Safer Cleveland launched its signature-gathering campaign to get the charter amendment on the November ballot. 鈥淚鈥檓 opposed to the charter change they鈥檙e proposing.鈥�

Over the past year, in response to calls for reform like defunding the police, Jackson has stood by the consent decree as the city鈥檚 roadmap for reform.

鈥淎nd the community police commission is part of that,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淎nd its role in terms of policy and oversight is described very specifically in that settlement agreement. So that鈥檚 what I support 鈥� the settlement agreement.鈥�

As far as the future of the community police commission after the consent decree ends 鈥� without a charter change 鈥� that鈥檚 also unclear.

Cleveland City Council鈥檚 Safety Committee Chair Blaine Griffin said, during a February budget meeting, that maybe the commission should become a part of the Community Relations Board, within the mayor鈥檚 office.

鈥淚t鈥檇 be a travesty if, at the end of the consent decree, you guys just had to go away,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淏ut it also is fiscally responsible and important if we actually looked at, is it a great thing if we actually expand the community relations board?鈥�

Griffin, who ran the community relations office before joining city council, added he thought that鈥檚 where the commission should have been from the beginning.

But the organizers are trying to bypass city leadership, going directly to their fellow citizens.

Jennifer Blakeney was gathering signatures in a strip mall in the Glenville neighborhood, catching people going in and out of a busy laundromat on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

鈥淗ave you had a chance to sign the petition for oversight of the police?鈥� Blakeney asked one passerby, who stopped to sign.

鈥淭his is surprisingly the first place I鈥檝e gotten 鈥楴os鈥�. Not everyone is cool with voting,鈥� Blakeney said. 鈥淚 had one woman fill it out and then wouldn鈥檛 sign it, doesn鈥檛 do that.鈥�

After a couple hours, Blakeney had 12 signatures. It will take close to 6,000 from registered Cleveland voters to get on the ballot.

She鈥檚 joined on the petition committee by two women whose family members were killed by Cleveland police, Alicia Kirkman and Brenda Bickerstaff, and by Black Lives Matter Cleveland co-founders Kareem Henton and LaTonya Goldsby.

Blakeney got involved in the campaign after working on a police oversight research team that helped prepare the Cleveland police consent decree in 2015.

鈥淭he Community police commission that鈥檚 instated now was part of what we had recommended,鈥� Blakeney said.

And she believes that without a charter amendment, the CPC will end with the consent decree.

The process once the signatures are gathered is complicated. City council has to review the amendment, then send it to the board of elections. It鈥檚 not clear when that will happen because of council鈥檚 summer recess. But organizers are aiming to reach 10,000 signatures, to make up for the probability some will be invalid.

Prentiss Haney, co-executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, is optimistic about getting the charter amendment on November鈥檚 ballot.

The goal is to have the signatures collected by the end of June. Then supporters can start convincing people their vote in favor of the charter amendment is the best way to get lasting reform at the Cleveland Division of Police.

鈥淲e are the largest community organizing organization in the state,鈥� Haney said. 鈥淲e have a history and we know how to get this done.鈥�