CLEVELAND — A police reform initiative is dividing voters in Cleveland.
Activism has been a passion for Latonya Goldsby after her cousin, 12-year-old Tamir Rice, was killed in a police shooting. His death made national headlines.
“We were there during his birthdays, holidays and things like that, went to see him when he was born. So our family has always been tight knit,” said Goldsby.
As the founder of Black Lives Matter Cleveland, she hopes passing Issue 24 will bring more accountability.
“For far too long, those voices have been left out of the conversation. They have not had a seat at the table, and we wanted to make sure that those who are directly impacted have a seat at the table to be able to address their grievances,” said Goldsby.
Issue 24 would establish a 13-member community police commission that would be, “broadly representative of the racial, social, economic and cultural interests of the community.”
According to Cleveland City Council, the commission would have final authority to establish the rules by which new police officers are recruited and hired. The commission would also have final authority on disciplining officers, policies, procedures and training regimens.
Goldsby believes this would be a major step for police reform.
“We can’t allow the police to continue to police themselves. We know that that process does not work. Because these shootings have always been justified. No matter what actions that officers had taken, no matter what policies or procedures that officer may have violated,” explained Goldsby.
Issue 24 has been a contentious issue on the campaign trail for the candidates to be Cleveland’s next mayor. Council President Kevin Kelley has been telling people to vote against it.
“Issue 24 would make our neighborhoods less safe. Issue 24 would result in hundreds of officers leaving the job. Issue 24 would result in slower response times,” Kelley said at a recent debate.
Justin Bibb supports Issue 24.
“And I believe Issue 24 is a positive step in the right direction to make sure we have more community voices around the table,” Bibb said at the same debate.
Paul Forsgren moved to Cleveland a decade and a half ago and hopes be a part of the city’s revitalization.
“I knew that it had so much potential, it always has, and it’s been great over the last 14 years just to see that actually happen,” said Forsgren. “If this passes, I think by next spring, we’re just going to be in a crisis of public safety.”
He believes Issue 24 stands in the way of that progress. He started Greater Cleveland Citizens for Public Safety, which agrees with Mayor Frank Jackson and the city’s police chief that Issue 24 would damage an already short staffed police force and make the city less safe.
“We believe that they’re set up to where they’ll be biased against them, they’re able to reopen discipline, do things of that nature. And we believe that good officers will simply go elsewhere because Cleveland is not an island, they actually compete for police officers. There’s already a shortage, there’s going to be an even bigger shortage,” said Forsgren.
He points out that much of Issue 24’s petition funding came from The Fairness Project, based in Washington, D.C., and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which is based in Youngstown. He also isn't a fan of another piece of the amendment which says police association members of the commission can be removed by the mayor with or without cause or a simple majority vote by other members.
“It’s the most terrifying thing as a Cleveland citizen I’ve seen,” said Forsgren. “I have an app on my phone called 'Citizen' and every time someone reports a crime, it dings. It dings multiple times a day now. And we’re not talking about petty theft. We’re talking about shots fired things of that nature.”
The issue will be on the Nov. 2 ballot.