CLEVELAND — *Editor's Note: This video in the player above originally aired July 14, 2020.
The United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP hosted a Consent Decree Community conversation on Wednesday evening.
The conversation brought together individuals relevant to the Consent Decree for the first time in a public forum. Retired Judge Ronald Adrine, a nationally-recognized expert on violence issues, moderated the conversation that featured the following panelists:
- Hassan Aden, Monitor, Cleveland Police Monitoring Team
- Bridget Brennan, Acting U.S. Attorney – Northern District of Ohio
- Jason Goodrick, Executive Director – Cleveland Community Police Commission
- Ayesha Hardaway, Deputy Monitor, Cleveland Police Monitoring Team
- Barbara Langhenry, Law Director - City of Cleveland
- Danielle Sydnor, Community Member and President of the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP
- Calvin Williams, Chief of Police - City of Cleveland
You can watch the forum in its entirety below:
The Consent Decree, a 5-year agreement in which the City of Cleveland was to examine and evaluate polices for how Cleveland Police interact with members of the community, was implemented by the City of Cleveland the Department of Justice in 2015.
In an effort to repair trust and protect the constitutional rights of the people, the the Consent Decree aims to:
1. Identifying problems within the Cleveland Division of Police;
2. Creating and implementing policies and practices to correct those problems;
3. Defining consequences for officer and/or Cleveland Division of Police failure to follow the rules of the Consent Decree; and
4. Creating a process to monitor the Cleveland Division of Police to make sure the terms of the Consent Decree are being enforced.
Wednesday's conversation is free and open to the public. Those wishing to join can do so by registering on the United Way's website or by listening live on the City Club of Cleveland's YouTube page.
The event marks the first in a 10-month series of Consent Decree Community Conversations. The next is on Feb. 10, and focuses on Use of Force, including Vehicle Pursuit.