A photo of Interim Executive Director of the Cleveland Community Police Commission Jason Goodrick shares updates about the consent decree following a federal court hearing on Oct. 25
Interim Executive Director of the Cleveland Community Police Commission Jason Goodrick shares updates about the consent decree following a federal court hearing on Oct. 25 Credit: Cleveland Community Police Commission YouTube

Covered by Documenters Ashley Lubecky (notes), Pearl Chen (notes) and Christina Easter (live-tweets)

Minutes matters

Commissioner Teri Wang raised concerns over the accuracy and accessibility of the minutes for meetings on Sept. 27 and Oct. 19. She said she submitted line edits to make the notes clearer for the public, but they were not incorporated into the final set of notes.

“Asking the public to watch a 2½-hour meeting in order to determine if there’s something that they’re interested in–I think is not the best service to the public. I do not think the minutes that have been revised fulfill that standard,” said Wang.

The commission approved the notes from both meetings, with Wang as the sole “nay” vote. Commissioner Sharena Zayed abstained from both votes.

Public comment followed the vote, with residents echoing Wang’s concerns over the minutes. 

“It’s alarming for a citizen or resident to go on your website to try and obtain minutes and they are not there… When we go to those websites to get those minutes we want full documentation and transparency of what’s happening in these meetings,” said LaTonya Goldsby, president and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Cleveland.

Bending the rules

The commission discussed what happened at a recent federal court hearing about progress on Cleveland’s consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The Fraternal Order of Police Associates and the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association  recently agreed to contracts that allow for police discipline to be handled differently, said Jason Goodrick, interim executive director for the CPC.

Goodrick said that neither contract has been approved by City Council. The court, the police monitor, and the Department of Justice talked about concerns that the agreement was made with the unions without informing them. The parties discussed whether the change to discipline was covered by the consent decree or violated the agreement.

The commission approved a motion to request a copy of the city’s tentative bargaining agreements with police unions.

Read more from Documenter Ashley Lubecky:

Cleveland-Community-Police-Commission-CPC-Community-Police-Commission-Public-Meeting-10_25_2023Download

Read more from Documenter Pearl Chen:

Cleveland-Community-Police-Commission-CPC-Community-Police-Commission-Public-Meeting-10_25_2023-1Download

Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Christina Easter:

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Service Journalism Reporter (she/her)
Dakotah is a journalist and audio producer dedicated to untangling bureaucracy and providing power (information) to the people of Cleveland. She spent 10 years on the frontlines of direct service working with youth and system-impacted communities before receiving her master's in media advocacy from Northeastern University. Dakotah is part of the Community team whose mission is to listen and amplify the issues Clevelanders care about most.

Cleveland Documenters pays and trains people to cover public meetings where government officials discuss important issues and decide how to spend taxpayer money.