A dozen years ago, the Cleveland Division of Police was under federal investigation for excessive force, unconstitutional practices, and a pattern of abuse so severe that the Department of Justice described it as an occupying force in the neighborhoods it was supposed to serve.
Today in Ohio podcast hosts say the consent decree that followed resulted in a much more professional department and cannot understand why Mayor Justin Bibb is rushing to shut it down before the work is completed.
The consent decree is a binding contract: fix these things, and federal oversight ends. Don’t, and it doesn’t…