Cleveland City Council will take an early step toward meeting the city's agreement with the Justice Department over policing. ideastream's Nick Castele reports council will take up legislation addressing racial profiling.
The city's newly signed agreement with the Justice Department requires Cleveland to embrace what's known as "bias-free policing"—that is, police work that doesn't discriminate based on race, religion, gender, age or sexual orientation, among other attributes.
The DOJ's probe into the Cleveland police didn't directly look at race, though its report noted investigators heard from African-American citizens who felt they were treated poorly by officers because of it.
City Councilman Matt Zone, the chair of the safety committee, said he'll introduce legislation next Monday to collect data that would serve as a guide to bias-free policing.
"When we had our council listening tours, that was like one of the No. 1 issues that rose to the surface on how people felt they were being policed within our city," Zone said.
On Wedneday, U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach briefs council on the consent decree. And more council hearings on police and the courts system are planned for this summer, Zone said.
