The monitor overseeing Cleveland’s police consent decree says his team cannot approve parts of the city’s proposed policy for body cameras, nor its plan for equipping officers. WCPN’s Nick Castele reports the monitor is asking for changes.
In a court filing with the judge overseeing the consent decree, the monitoring team laid out its many criticisms of Cleveland’s equipment plan.
The team says the plan needs to set specific deadlines, rather than quarterly ones, and should clearly spell out who is responsible for doing what. Among other requirements, the monitor says Cleveland needs to come up with a plan for replacing its aging fleet of patrol cars.
A separate court filing says the city should require police officers to wear body cameras when they’re wearing their city uniforms and gear when they work private jobs on the side.
In a written statement, the city says Cleveland remains committed to its settlement with the Justice Department and will “continue our due diligence and good faith in the process moving forward.”
The city and the monitor have a chance to talk this over more with a federal judge next month. They have a conference scheduled for Jan. 6.
