Police Oversight Amendment Passed By Cleveland Voters

CLEVELAND — On a night when Cleveland selected its first new mayor in 16 years, voters also passed new measures to provide increased police oversight within the city.

Issue 24 implements civilian oversight and authority over Cleveland police discipline matters. The charter amendment received nearly 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

With the issue passing, a new civilian-run Community Police Commission will assume authority over Cleveland police policies, training and discipline. The charter amendment also provides the commission power to launch investigations into officers and the department, while preventing police from investigating themselves in claims of malfeasance and misconduct.

Members of the commission will be appointed by the mayor and Cleveland City Council.

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The charter amendment was also a wedge issue in the mayoral campaign.

Mayor-elect Justin Bibb endorsed Issue 24, while his opponent, Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley opposed it. When the dust settled on Tuesday night's elections, Bibb was claiming victory, Kelley conceding, and Issue 24's supporters were celebrating.

Kelley argued on the campaign trail that Issue 24's passing could cause an exodus of police from Cleveland. Activists argued similar legislation had not driven other officers from their departments, despite similar threats of an exodus. They also argued it was time for more accountability in policing, ideastream reported.

The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association lobbied hard against the charter amendment, arguing oversight of police should remain within the department and in the hands of certain elected officials, like the mayor. On Tuesday, Cleveland voters chose to take the risk of losing police officers to get better oversight of officers, passing both Issue 24 and electing the mayoral candidate who supported increased police oversight.

In the wake of their defeat, the police union promised to fight the election results in court, arguing their union contract should trump the will of voters, who gave wins to both Issue 24 and Bibb, who has promised police reforms as part of his campaign, Cleveland 19 reported.