CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland has fired Assistant Safety Director Jakimah Dye following an investigation into her car crash in a city vehicle with children inside on Feb. 17 in Warrensville Heights.
In a letter dated on Friday, Interim Safety Director Wayne Drummond informed Dye that she was being terminated from her job for misconduct after an administrative pre-disciplinary hearing that was held last month.
"During the course of the investigation, you admitted you were utilizing the City vehicle for non-work related purposes," Drummond wrote. "It was also discovered that you were transporting several minors and did not possess valid motor vehicle insurance to cover the damages incurred in the accident. Additionally, it is alleged that you made untruthful, misleading, and/or deceptive statements during the investigation of this matter."
The city says after an internal investigation, it found that Dye violated several civil service commission rules, including:
- Neglect of duty
- Negligent or willful damage to public property
- Wasteful or unauthorized use of City vehicles, equipment, materials, or property
- For other failure of good behavior which is detrimental to the service or for any other act of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office
Dye was also accused of violating several Cleveland workplace policies, including vehicle use.
"As Assistant Director of Budget and Operations in the Department of Public Safety, the expectation of professionalism and honesty is uncompromising. We serve the public, therefore we must be good stewards of community trust," Drummond added.
3News reached out to the office of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb for a reaction to the Dye firing. We received the following statement:
"Assistant Safety Director Jakimah Dye’s last day with the City of Cleveland was today, Friday, April 12, 2024. Following an accident in Dye’s city vehicle back in February, the department of human resources conducted a thorough investigation. The course of action determined was immediate termination. We respect the process and support the findings of the investigation. We thank her for her service."
Six days after the crash involving Dye, Cleveland Safety Director Karrie Howard announced his resignation, touching off sweeping changes to the public safety department.
Drummond, who was serving as Cleveland's police chief at the time, was appointed as interim safety director. Cleveland Division of Police Deputy Chief Dorothy "Annie" Todd was promoted to the permanent role of chief of police.