Less than a year after the Cleveland Community Police Commission’s first public meeting, some commissioners want to remove a member over what they say is inappropriate behavior and a refusal to compromise.

After a long discussion at Wednesday night’s meeting, the group voted to postpone deciding whether Commissioner Teri Wang should be cut from her co-chair positions and possibly from the commission altogether.  

In a written statement on Thursday, Wang told Signal Cleveland she’s glad “fairness and reason prevailed” Wednesday night, as postponing the discussion will allow her time to address the allegations. 

“I wasn’t just in there fighting for myself,” Wang said. “I was looking out for all the activists who worked hard to make this commission a reality, and all the other people affected by our work, including police officers and Clevelanders. They also deserve fairness and reason.” 

She said Clevelanders need a commission that works hard and has good processes. 

However, she also said that postponing the vote allowed the sponsors to “save face rather than justify their attempt to sandbag me.” 

“It was an unfair process,” Wang said in her statement. 

Commissioners Piet van Lier and Shandra Benito introduced the two resolutions — one to remove Wang from her co-chair positions, the other from the commission.

In an interview on Thursday, van Lier said he understands, based on Wednesday’s discussion, that the commission needs to come up with a process for removing or disciplining a member. But van Lier said he’s not sure the commission should wait until that process is finalized to vote on removing Wang. 

“This situation feels like it’s very much in need of a quick response,” he said. “And I’m not sure it can be some long, drawn-out process.” 

Singled out?

At the public comment portion of the Wednesday meeting, Clevelanders shared concerns about the commission’s infighting and their lack of progress on its mission, police oversight work. 

Some community members wondered why Wang was facing ouster when others on the commission have done some of the same things she is being accused of. They said more than just one commissioner should be removed. 

Loh, a community activist, brought up a meeting over the summer at which Commissioner Alana Garrett-Ferguson argued with a community member and had to be held back. That June meeting was cut short.

“All other commissioners did all kinds of things in the past,” Loh said. “Nothing happened.”

In an interview, van Lier said those points are valid, and maybe the commission should have done more in the past when issues came up. But he doesn’t think that’s a reason not to address the concerns about Wang’s behavior. 

“That doesn’t mean that when a very real situation comes up that we can’t deal with it just because we maybe didn’t do it the way we might have the last time,” van Lier said. 

He added: “This is not just one thing. It’s not just an isolated incident. It’s ongoing repetition of behavior that is inappropriate and does not meet the standards that we as a group have set forth in how we want to operate.”

An ‘existential threat’ to the Cleveland Community Police Commission?

The two resolutions presented at the Wednesday meeting  cited “malfeasance and nonfeasance.” (Malfeasance is wrongdoing by a public official; nonfeasance is a failure to perform an act required by law.) The commission only addressed the co-chair proposal before voting to postpone the discussion. 

They accused Wang of verbally attacking fellow commissioners, commission staff and community members. She has also canceled or not scheduled meetings, delaying the commission’s work, they said. 

Some commissioners, including Wang, said the accusations were vague. 

“If you look at this motion and you take my name off of it, you can insert any one of your names on it, it’s so nonspecific,” Wang said. 

Benito provided more specific accusations. She summarized emails between her and Wang, saying Wang tried to use her role as chair of a committee to remove Benito from a work group. Wang then started canceling committee meetings where Benito had suggested they discuss whether she should continue to lead the work group, Benito said. 

Benito said while Wang is a hardworking commissioner, she poses an “existential threat” to the commission. She said Wang is “unwilling to be moved in her opinion.”

“We are a body of 13 people, and we cannot have one person who is unwilling to work with other people,” Benito said. 

Garrett-Ferguson said the process to remove a member should be clear. She also said Wang should have gotten enough information to defend herself. 

“I think for private emails to be read that are one-sided is not appropriate,” Garrett-Ferguson said. 

Decision deferred

Wang said she’s been asking for specific accusations since the beginning of January when she heard these proposals might come up at the commission meeting. Commissioner Janice McCullough Ridgeway sent her the draft of the resolutions on Friday, Wang said.

“All I’ve been asking for all along are the details of the accusations made against me to be given to me so I can defend myself,” Wang said. “Not to be sandbagged in this meeting.”

During public comment, some community members spoke in support of Wang. They told the commissioners they need someone as diligent, prepared and honest as she is. 

Others agreed she should not be on the commission but said she deserved due process before being removed. 

Rosie Palfy, a community advocate, suggested the commission hold a special meeting for this issue, just as they would hold separate hearings when they consider accountability and discipline for police officers in the future. 

Commissioners agreed to return to the proposals at a future meeting. 

“The people of Cleveland voted for careful, and independent civilian oversight of their police,” Wang said in her statement to Signal Cleveland. “What’s next is simple: that we do the work. … So, while it’s unfortunate that some of my fellow commissioners chose this route, I hope we can pivot back onto the right path.”