CLEVELAND– The ACLU of Ohio sent a second letter today to the city of Cleveland seeking public records pertaining to police use of force policy and training, and policy and procedure for the investigation of incidents of police use of force. The ACLU originally requested the documents over two weeks ago, but the city has failed to provide any response to these inquiries.
The ACLU’s request followed promised changes by the Cleveland Police Department to their use of force guidelines and the rules that govern an investigation into alleged misuse of force.
ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link said, “The public must be informed of what these policy changes are and what the policies were prior to the revisions.” Link went on, “Without this information, the public cannot accurately engage the city in a discussion over the merits of the changes and any other actions that may still need to be taken.”
The ACLU of Ohio originally submitted the public records request on October 5, and left two phone messages with the Public Information Officer offering further clarification of the written requests and inquiring when the records would be made available. Over two weeks later, and the ACLU of Ohio has not received any response from the Public Information Officer or another city representative.
The materials requested of the city, included such things as police training manuals, police policy and procedures manuals, and policy and procedure relating to the investigation of use of force incidents.
Gary Daniels, ACLU of Ohio Litigation Coordinator, added, “All of these materials are subject to Ohio public records laws, and should be provided in a timely manner.”
Update: The records were eventually released as requested.
