Cleveland

What Will Cleveland Consent Decree Do For Victims Of Police Violence?

June 2, 2015 Nicole Colson, www.socialistworker.org Educate! Cleveland, Law, police brutality

By Nicole Colson in Socialist Worker - DO COPS really need to be told not to pistol-whip people? Not to brutalize someone for talking back? Or shoot them for the "crime" of running away? The ones in Cleveland apparently do. Under the terms of the court-administered agreement with the Justice Department called a "consent decree," the Cleveland police will submit to oversight of numerous aspects of policing from the use of force to police accountability to the utilization of equipment and resources. But on the heels of another legal verdict exonerating a Cleveland cop for the murder of unarmed African Americans, the question is whether these regulations will change the toxic levels of violence that Cleveland police currently wield with impunity? And what, if anything, will they mean for the ability to win justice for victims of police brutality?

Cleveland And Justice Department Agree To Police Reforms

May 27, 2015 Corey Shaffer, www.cleveland.com Resist! Cleveland, Criminal Justice, Law, police brutality, Police the Police

Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled widespread reforms Tuesday meant to transform a police department that too often used excessive force and failed to conduct thorough internal investigations into a national model for big-city police. The 105-page settlement avoids a potential lawsuit by the Justice Department after its investigators concluded a nearly two-year investigation in December and found Cleveland police too often used excessive force, failed to thoroughly investigate itself and had suffered from an erosion of community trust. The agreement goes beyond correcting the Justice Department's complaints and includes extensive data collection meant to curtail racial profiling. The Justice Department and the city reached the agreement after five months of negotiations, with input from rank-and-file police, union officials and citizen groups.

‘This Is Straight Murder’: Protests Following Cleveland Acquittal

May 25, 2015 Nadia Prupis, www.commondreams.org Resist! Cleveland, Criminal Justice, Law, police brutality, Racial Justice

After a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio was acquitted on Saturday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man and woman in 2012, protests against racism and police brutality spread throughout the city as activists called for justice. Police in riot gear arrested multiple protesters marching peacefully through the streets of Cleveland, where the shooting took place. Activists chanted, "No justice, no peace" outside of the courthouse where the officer was cleared of voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault. The trial had been closely watched as a growing civil rights movement swept the country. The officer, Michael Brelo, and 10 other officers fired 137 shots at Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams after a 20-minute car chase, with Brelo climbing onto the hood of Russell's car and delivering 15 shots at close range.

Cleveland Claims Tamir Rice’s Own Actions Caused His Death

March 2, 2015 Stephanie McNeal, www.buzzfeed.com Resist! Cleveland, Corruption, Law, police brutality, Racism

The city of Cleveland is claiming that Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot dead by a police officer in November while holding a toy gun, died because of the actions and choices of him and his family. The city made the argument on Friday in a response to a lawsuit on behalf of the boy’s parents and sister, Tajai. The lawsuit lists Timothy Loehmann, the officer who shot Tamir; his partner Frank Garmback; and the city of Cleveland as defendants. It lists 27 counts including negligence, civil rights violations, and battery against Tamir and Tajai. The Rice family is asking for damages and a jury trial. Cleveland officials stated they could not fully respond to most of the counts because of an ongoing investigation into the incident by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. However, the city claims in its defense that Tamir’s death was caused by his own failure to properly exercise caution.

Cleveland Dispatcher In Tamir Rice Shooting Had Been Fired Before

January 16, 2015 Cory Shaffer, www.cleveland.com Educate! Cleveland, police brutality, Tamir Rice

The police dispatcher who sent Cleveland officers to Cudell Commons on Nov. 22, when Tamir Rice was fatally shot, was fired from her first police dispatcher job in September 2008, the same month she was arrested and charged with bringing a gun to a bar. Beth Mandl, then 26 years old, was hired as a dispatcher at Case Western Reserve University's police department in March of 2005, according to her personnel file released Wednesday by Cleveland City Hall. Mandl said on her application that her employment there ended in September of 2008, when she was terminated. A university spokesman said the school, a private entity, does not discuss personnel matters.

Congregations Map Campaign For Police Reform

January 14, 2015 Plain Dealer Staff, www.cleveland.com Organize! Cleveland, Faith, police brutality

A broad-based coalition of religious groups is taking action to play a leading role in reform of Cuyahoga County's criminal justice system. Greater Cleveland Congregations, a nonpartisan coalition representing more than 40 congregations and 20,000 people, will begin a series of meetings on Tuesday to develop and press its recommendations on police reform. The call to action represents "an unprecedented opportunity for Greater Cleveland Congregations to have an influence on the direction of the criminal justice system in Cleveland for years to come," organizers said. The meetings are being held on a tighter schedule than originally was planned, to ensure that recommendations can be made while the city and U.S. Department of Justice negotiate a consent decree to cure systemic deficiencies found by the DOJ in the police department.

Cleveland Police Hand Off Investigation Into Tamir Rice Shooting

January 6, 2015 Wesley Lowery, www.washingtonpost.com Organize! Cleveland, police brutality

City officials in Cleveland announced on Friday that they are handing over the investigation into the Nov. 22 police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice to the county sheriff’s office. “This decision to turn the investigation over was made to ensure that transparency and an extra layer of separation and impartiality were established,” said Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “I believe that the best way to ensure accountability in a use of force investigation is to have it completed by an outside agency.” The North East Ohio Media Group reported on Wednesday that top city officials were in talks with county officials to have an outside agency take over the investigation, which so far has been conducted by the city’s use of deadly force investigation team.

The Browns’ Hawkins, #BlackLivesMatter & Accidental Activism

December 18, 2014 Dave Zirin, www.thenation.com Resist! Cleveland, police brutality, Sports, Tamir Rice

One common thread that binds all social movements is the rise of the “accidental activist.” These are people who preface what they say with statements like, “I’m not an activist, in any way, shape or form.” And then they proceed to unleash statements of profound impact or find the courage to lead movements, discovering within themselves the capacity to inspire. We are seeing this in cities around the country in the #blacklivesmatter movements as a new generation of leaders is fighting for the space to actually lead. We also saw it this week in a six-minute speech, delivered without notes, by Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins. Hawkins was under pressure from the Cleveland police union to apologize for wearing a shirt in pregame saying “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford”.

Nationwide Protests Are Bringing Issue Of Police Abuse To Forefront

December 5, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, DC, killed by police, New York (NY), Oakland, Police abuse, police brutality, Portland, Racism, San Francisco, Washington

Below are a series of headlines, photos and opening paragraphs from major media sources describing how they covered the nationwide protests against the grand jury decisions in police shooting cases in New York and Ferguson as well as police abuse which has become a nationwide epidemic. Some papers like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where there were major protests did not cover the local protests in their communities. Others, like the Washington Post, focused more on the politics of the issue with photos of protests in DC and nationally. The Associated Press summarized the night of protests writing: "Thousands and thousands of diverse people united by anger took to the streets from New York City to San Francisco for a second straight night to protest a grand jury clearing a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. Grandparents marched with their grandchildren. Experienced activists stood alongside newcomers, and protesters of all colors chanted slogans. A 61-year-old black woman was accompanied by her daughter and twin 10-year-old grandchildren, a boy and a girl. She said it was important to her that the children saw a crowd that was racially mixed and diverse in many other ways all insisting upon the same thing - that something must be done." That was the message, too, in cities across America: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis Oakland, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., among them.

Police’s Story Of Shooting 12-year-old Tamir Rice Doesn’t Match Video

December 4, 2014 German Lopez, www.vox.com Educate! Cleveland, Ferguson, Law, police brutality

Cleveland Police officials told a different story about what happened to Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old shot and killed by a Cleveland Police officer over the weekend of November 22, than what's visible in the available video footage of the shooting. MSNBC's Chris Hayes broke down some the discrepancies between the police's side of the story and what actually happened, and what can be seen in the video surveillance footage released by police a couple days after the shooting. Police said, according to the Plain Dealer, that Rice was sitting under a pavilion in the park with a few people, suggesting that the boy could have been a threat to others. But the video footage shows Rice was sitting alone as police pulled up. Police also claimed, according to the Associated Press, that the officer who opened fire on Rice asked the boy to put his hands up three times, suggesting that Rice was given ample warning before he was shot.

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