Covered by Documenters Nani Faye Palmer (notes) and Christina Easter (live-tweet thread)
Policing tech use
Commissioners are digging into Cleveland police policy on the use of ShotSpotter, which detects gunshots across 13 square miles of the city, and on automated license plate readers. Commissioners said there was a policy for how officers use ShotSpotter but not for how the city uses devices that can read license plates of cars that are parked or that police encounter on the road.
Policing kids
The commission will also review the department’s policy for interacting with young people, which was put in place in 2021. Commissioner Alana Garrett-Ferguson expressed concern about age bias. She said she wanted to make sure that the constitutional rights of youth were being respected and that the intersection with mental health was looked into.
Interim Executive Director Jason Goodrick said policy pertaining to youth had been left out of the federal consent decree covering Cleveland police and there was concern in the community about broad statements about Black and brown youth. Last month, Police Chief Wayne Drummond referred to the behavior of some teens as “animalistic” following a case where a man was beaten at a gas station by multiple young people, who also fired guns.
No response to commission offer to collaborate on RISE
Commissioners have had no response to a letter the commission sent to Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration about collaborating on the RISE initiative (Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone). Commissioner Shandra Benito said there had been no response. The letter lists areas commissioners are interested in reviewing:
• Recruitment and retention of police officers
• Carjacking and car thefts in the context of police pursuits
• Violence reduction in the context of constitutional police policy
• Use of aggressive enforcement and increased police visibility
• Increased use of surveillance technology and A.I.-assisted data analysis
via the Real Time Crime Center, including automated license plate
readers, ShotSpotter and street cameras
