The 13-member Cleveland Community Police Commission will seat six or seven brand new members in January. That’s because only one of the five active current commissioners wants to return. Two of those not returning described frustrations with the city.
Commission co-chair John Adams and commissioners Piet van Lier, Imoh Umosen and James Chura passed on the chance to seek another term. Also not re-upping: Commissioner Audrianna Rodriguez, who’s been AWOL most of the year, and Luther Roddy, who was appointed but never joined.
Reasons why commissioners are stepping away
“I don’t know where to start,” said Adams when asked about stepping away.
He went on to list examples of what he considers disrespect and a general lack of support from the city, including Mayor Justin Bibb not acting when asked to remove commissioner; the administration seeking an end to the consent decree without consulting the commission; and the heated battle over legal representation that followed.
He also cited internal conflict, which isn’t as frequent or debilitating as in the past but still happens from time to time.
“I did not get on this board to constantly fight with other commissioners and constantly fight with the city,” Adams said.
Van Lier applied for reinstatement but then changed his mind, mostly for personal reasons.
“I sound like a politician answering ‘to spend more time with my family,’ but it’s true!” he said. (But he also echoed Adams’ comments about insufficient support from the city, adding that it “feeds into a public perception of [commission] dysfunction?)
He said he’s proud of the progress the commission has made in updating and setting new police policies, including the not-yet-passed but progressing discipline matrix. The Cleveland Division of Police’s policy unit has been a cooperative and reliable partner in those processes, he said.
Umosen said he intended to reapply but increasing work obligations — he’s a project manager at PNC Bank — made it unfeasible.
He said he’ll remain available to new commissioners if they have questions.
“You do the best that you can, and then you pass the baton to the next person, and maybe the next person is going to do an even better job than you,” he said. “At least that’s the hope.”
Chura did not respond to a request for comment.
Commissioner Untaya Miller applied for a second term. She and 20 other applicants were interviewed last week. (Almost 60 people applied.) You can watch those interviews here, here and here.
