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Cleveland City Council Plans 'Listening Tour' After Report on Excessive Police Force

Council President Kevin Kelley addresses reporters, flanked by council members Kevin Conwell and Phyllis Cleveland.
Council President Kevin Kelley addresses reporters, flanked by council members Kevin Conwell and Phyllis Cleveland.

This comes days after a sweeping Justice Department review found police showed a pattern of using excessive and unnecessary force.

Council president Kevin Kelley called parts of the report "shocking," but said the city should use the report to improve itself.

"We're going to go to the community, we're going to listen to what they have to say," Kelley said at a press conference Monday afternoon. "We're going find out firsthand what it is that the residents of the city of Cleveland feel, and how is it that we, as your elected representatives, can work to create a better relationship between the division of police and our citizens."

Council members will hear from U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach this week, and plan to talk with residents in Cleveland's Lee-Harvard neighborhood next week.

Protesters filled council chambers last night to call for the resignation of Cleveland's safety director Michael McGrath. The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports McGrath and other Jackson administration officials walked out of last night's meeting. McGrath told NEOMG yesterday that he won't step down.

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.