Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Cleveland have jointly requested the termination of the federal consent decree that has overseen the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) since 2015. The motion, filed in United States v. City of Cleveland, comes after more than a decade of efforts to reform CDP practices and policies.
According to the DOJ, CDP has addressed the concerns outlined in its 2014 findings regarding constitutional policing. The division has implemented new policies and training on issues such as use of force, searches and seizures, misconduct investigations, and community engagement. These changes were reviewed by court-appointed monitors, who found that CDP now conducts its operations in accordance with constitutional standards.
“We are proud to stand by the men and women of CDP as we take this significant step to end federal oversight and return control of local law enforcement to the City of Cleveland,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We believe the City and CDP have demonstrated their commitment to constitutional policing, and it is time for Cleveland to fully utilize CDP’s resources to protect Clevelanders from crime.”
U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio added: “For more than a decade, the Monitoring Team’s assessments have shown the tremendous strides that CDP has made to ensure constitutional policing, thereby increasing the community’s trust. The Division’s officers should be proud of what they have accomplished. As a valuable law enforcement partner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work closely with CDP to reduce gun violence and drug trafficking, and to keep dangerous gang activity off the streets. We appreciate the dedication of these men and women in uniform and the hard work they do each day in their mission keep the people of Cleveland safe.”
The DOJ began investigating CDP in 2013 under Section 14141 (the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act), focusing on reports that officers used excessive force. That investigation found widespread problems such as inadequate accountability measures, insufficient training programs, ineffective policies, and weak community engagement—all contributing factors in unconstitutional uses of force by officers.
Following those findings, both parties agreed on reforms that were formalized into a consent decree by a federal judge in June 2015. With today’s motion seeking an end to federal oversight, those reformed structures are expected to remain so that constitutional policing continues within Cleveland.
The Special Litigation Section from DOJ's Civil Rights Division worked together with attorneys from Northern District of Ohio's Civil Division throughout this process.
