At issue is one line in the new police-reform charter amendment that lays out what kind of people must serve on the 13-member body, which, once seated, will be empowered with broad oversight duties of Cleveland police.
Mayor Justin Bibb, top left, and Council President Blaine Griffin, bottom left, on the day Bibb announced Wayne Drummond, right, as Cleveland police chief. The city's reading of a police-reform charter-change is at odds with the intentions of the drafters of the amendment, two drafters told cleveland.com.
Bibb’s chief ethics officer, Delanté Spencer Thomas, oversaw the application and vetting process for the mayor’s nominees. He toldlate Wednesday that the city interpreted the above excerpt to mean that only one of those listed categories must be represented on the commission. LaTonya Goldsby -- president and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Cleveland, the cousin of Tamir Rice, and one of the key people behind Issue 24 – said the city’s interpretation “doesn’t make sense” and is in “direct violation of the charter,” adding that Bibb is “very misinformed” on his reading of the language.
Chandra said that, too, was intentional, as it was meant to give the city flexibility in the final make-up of the commission, while still ensuring that all categories were represented. “That line would make no sense whatsoever based on the city’s interpretation…it would be superfluous and the law doesn’t tolerate [that].”
Both are vital categories to serve on the commission, Chandra said. He called Griffin’s reasoning “a tortured contortion.”