By
MITCH SMITH and MATT APUZZOMAY 25, 2015
CLEVELAND
— Cleveland has reached a settlement with the Justice Department over what
federal authorities said was a pattern of unconstitutional policing and
excessive use of force, people briefed on the case said Monday.
The
settlement, which could be announced as early as Tuesday, comes days after a
judge declared a Cleveland police officer not guilty of manslaughter for
climbing onto the hood of a car and firing repeatedly at its unarmed occupants,
both of them black. The verdict prompted a day and night of protests and
reignited discussions about how police officers treat the city’s
African-American residents.
The
details of the settlement were not immediately clear, but in similar
negotiations in recent years, the Justice Department has required cities to
allow independent monitors to oversee changes inside police departments.
Settlements are typically backed by court orders and often call for improved
training and revised use-of-force policies.
A
spokeswoman for the Cleveland Division of Police referred questions to the
mayor’s office, which said it would not comment on Monday. Dena Iverson, a
spokeswoman for the Justice Department, also had no comment.
A
Cleveland police officer who climbed onto the hood of a car after a chase and
fired repeatedly at its unarmed occupants in 2012 was acquitted of manslaughter
on Saturday by an Ohio judge.
By
Reuters on Publish Date May 23, 2015. Photo by Tony Dejak/Associated Press.
The
Justice Department opened an inquiry into the Cleveland Division of Police
months after the 2012 shooting of the unarmed occupants in a car, and issued
its report in December. Cleveland is one of several cities, including Ferguson,
Mo., New York and Baltimore, that have become the focal points of a national
debate over policing and race.
The
Justice Department has opened nearly two dozen investigations into police
departments during the Obama administration. Federal investigators found
patterns of unconstitutional policing in cities including Seattle, Newark,
Albuquerque and Ferguson. Federal authorities recently announced they would
investigate the Baltimore Police Department after Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old
black man, died of injuries he suffered while in police custody.
In
Seattle, the Justice Department inquiry led local officials to overhaul
training and focus on how officers can calm tense situations without using
force. In Albuquerque, the city agreed to change the way police are trained,
outfit officers with body cameras and improve how the department investigates
police shootings.
Officials
in Ferguson are negotiating a possible settlement over accusations that
officers routinely violated the Constitution.
The
Justice Department’s report on the Cleveland police was among its most
scathing, finding that they engaged in a pattern of “unreasonable and
unnecessary use of force.”
Investigators
said police officers unnecessarily used deadly force; used excessive force
against mentally ill people; and inappropriately used stun guns, chemical
sprays and punches. It detailed tactical blunders by the police, and said
officers too often imperiled bystanders when they used force.
The
Justice Department also criticized a “structurally flawed” discipline policy
that it said made it too difficult to punish officers for improperly using
force.
The
report highlighted one case in which officers kicked an African-American man in
the head while he was handcuffed and on the ground, then did not report using
force in the arrest.
“Supervisors
throughout the chain of command endorse questionable and sometimes unlawful
conduct by officers,” Vanita Gupta, the Justice Department’s top civil rights
prosecutor, said in December. “Officers are not provided with adequate
training, policy guidance, and supervision to do their jobs safely and
effectively.”
The
report was compiled too late to cover the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who
was playing with a replica gun in a park in November when the police shot him.
Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge Cleveland officers in his
death or in the case of Tanisha Anderson, 37, who died after she was restrained
face down on the pavement.
For
Cleveland, a settlement averts a long and costly court fight and the appearance
that city leaders are resisting change. Mayor Frank Jackson faces a recall
petition from city activists who say, among other grievances, that he has not
done enough to prevent police abuses. The Justice Department has called him a
full partner in its effort to improve the police department.
On
Saturday, demonstrators spent hours marching through Cleveland after a judge
acquitted Officer Michael Brelo of manslaughter for his role in the 2012
shooting, which began with a car chase. Though several officers fired a
combined 137 shots in the episode, Officer Brelo was singled out for manslaughter
charges because he climbed onto the hood of the car after the pursuit ended and
fired 15 shots inside the vehicle.
The
car’s unarmed occupants, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, died from
gunshot wounds. The judge ruled that the actions of Officer Brelo, who is
white, were lawful.
Cleveland’s
streets have stayed calm since Saturday, when the police reported 71 arrests,
some on felony charges.
Dozens
of protesters appeared in court here Monday on misdemeanor charges, some still
wearing T-shirts with messages like “I Can’t Breathe,” a reference to the words
Eric Garner in New York said as he died, or “Black Lives Matter.”
Most of
the protesters arraigned Monday were charged with refusal to disperse, and 35
pleaded no contest to an amended charge of disorderly conduct, which carries no
jail time. Twenty people pleaded not guilty and will contest the charges. One
man pleaded guilty. More protesters are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Talis
Gage, 31, a Cleveland native now living in a different part of Ohio, was among
those who pleaded no contest and was released Monday morning. As with others
who pleaded no contest, the judge sentenced him to time served and did not
issue a fine. Mr. Gage said he joined Saturday’s protest because he believed
that Officer Brelo was guilty of a crime.
“What
happened was not justice,” Mr. Gage said outside the courthouse shortly after
his release. “It was unfair for this man to walk away with no jail time at
all.”
Mitch
Smith reported from Cleveland, and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.
