The meetings came after the fatal shooting of twelve-year old Tamir Rice by Cleveland police and a federal Justice Department report finding evidence of excessive force used by officers.
Council members listened to hours of testimony from residents across the city. Councilman Matt Zone said several themes emerged.
“Lack of community policing, fear of the police, lack of proper police training and equipment, lack of trust in the department leadership to reform and correct those problems,” Zone said.
Also, residents wanted changes to the civilian board overseeing police, he said.
Zone is chair of the safety committee, and said he’ll conduct hearings on these topics throughout the year. He said he also plans to take up legislation on issues related to the Justice Department report—in addition to legislation on racial profiling.
The full summary of the hearings comes out Wednesday.
