CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland is getting closer to having its community police commission up and running.
3News on Friday streamed Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb presenting the nominees of Cleveland's new Community Police Commission. The full video can be viewed below.
Moments after Mayor Bibb and the nominees took to the steps of City Hall, the introduction was interrupted by a protester with an air horn. A group of individuals stood on the steps with "Yes on 24" signs asking for "real police accountability." The moment can be watched in the video below.
Bibb responded to the group by stating his support last year on Issue 24.
Warning: Video below may contain strong or offensive language
The abbreviated press conference came just one day after the federal monitor overseeing the Cleveland Division of Police's reform efforts officially stepped down. Hassan Aden formally announced his resignation on Thursday and U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver accepted it during a hearing on Friday. An interim monitor is expected to be named by Monday.
During Monday's city council meeting, Bibb's 10 selections for the 13-member commission were announced. The mayor's picks must go before the council's Mayor's Appointment Committee before being voted on by the full council.
Here are the 10 nominations from Mayor Bibb to serve on the Cleveland Community Police Commission:
- Alana Garrett-Ferguson - Policy associate at Center for Community Solutions, member of the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP (four-year term)
- Cait Kennedy - Executive director & co-founder of unBail mobile app that allows defendants to access information about their specific case (two-year term)
- Charles Donaldson, Jr. - Talent acquisition specialist at Sherwin-Williams and U.S. Coast Guard veteran (four-year term)
- Gregory Reaves - Career coach at Towards Employment, former case manager at Recovery Resources (two-year term)
- James M. Chura - Served 33 years as a member of Cleveland Division of Police before retiring in 2020, now serves as installation technician at Re-Sources LLC (four-year term)
- Jan Ridgeway - Board president and volunteer director of Garden Valley Neighborhood House and former Cleveland Public Library administrator (Four-year term)
- Sharena Zayed - Network weaver for University Settlement and Board chair of Stop the Pain Inc. (two-year term)
- Pastor Kyle Earley - Senior pastor at City of God Cleveland, member of Cleveland Branch of NAACP and board member of Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland (two-year term)
- Piet Van Lier - Senior researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, focusing on civil justice and criminal legal system reform (four-year term)
- Teri Wang - Chair of community partnerships for Asian American Coalition of Ohio and owns writing/academic consulting business (Two-year term)
Cleveland City Council chose three commission members earlier this month.
- Dr. John Adams - chair of social studies department at Cleveland School of Science and Medicine (four-year term)
- Shandra Benito - director of diversity and inclusion at The Nord Center (two-year term)
- Audrianna Rodriguez - family advocate at The Centers for Children and Families for three CMSD schools (four-year term)
As a result of the passage of Issue 24 by voters last year, the Cleveland Community Police Commission will have the authority to make decisions on discipline for police misconduct, oversee and update police recruitment and training, and make policy recommendations on processes and procedures. The candidates "were randomly allocated two and four-year terms to preserve fairness and the integrity of the selection process."
"Today marks a new beginning for policing in Cleveland," Bibb said in a statement after revealing his nominees. "It heeds the lessons of our 100-year history of attempts to reform the police and builds on the consent decree to finally create a people-powered oversight mechanism for real and lasting change."
Per the criteria in the city's charter, no more than three members of the commission may be representatives from police associations, at least two members must come from community organizations focused on civil rights, and at least one member must be an attorney or have "relevant lived experience of the criminal justice system, mental illness or homelessness."
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