CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has selected nine nominees for the city’s 13-member Community Police Commission (CPC) and sent them to city council for review and final approval.

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has selected nine nominees for the city’s 13-member Community Police Commission (CPC) and sent them to city council for review and final approval

  • These are the nine nominees: Shandra Moreira-Benito, Sharena Zayed, Tera Coleman, Maya Kincaid, Sheila Mason, Michael Nelson, Maura Garin, Untaya Miller and Imoh Umosen

  • The city council committee that reviews mayor’s appointments must now hold a meeting to review the nominations before submitting them to the whole body for final approval, which city leaders hope will happen before the end of the year

  • The CPC, one of the most powerful civilian police oversight groups in the country, was granted the final say in police discipline and policies after the passage of Issue 24 in 2021, but has so far struggled to make use of their power

“We're really excited about all of the candidates,” Delanté Spencer Thomas, the city’s Chief Ethics Officer, said. “You know, we believe that we have a diverse group that really represent the culture and the demographics of our city.”

Retired Woodmere Village Police Chief Sheila Mason and Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Michael Nelson are among the nominees. Two more, Shandra Moreira-Benito and Sharena Zayed, are currently members of the commission and are up for reappointment. The other nominees are Tera Coleman, Maya Kincaid, Maura Garin, Untaya Miller and Imoh Umosen.

Two other current commissioners, Teri Wang and Kyle Earley, applied for reappointment but were not interviewed or selected. 

“Not only did we look at all the same things that we looked at for all of the applicants to make sure that that was assessed across the board, but then, I also looked at how the group is able to work together, how we're able to to move things forward,” Thomas said.

The city council committee that reviews mayor’s appointments must now hold a meeting to review the nominations before submitting them to the whole body for final approval.

Thomas said he’s hopeful the appointments will be sworn in by the end of the year. 

One of the most powerful civilian police oversight groups in the country, the CPC has so far struggled to make use of its power, frustrating residents and city leaders.

With three current commissioners resigning from their four-year terms, and six commissioners reaching their two-year term limit, Thomas says they’re hoping a big shift in members is what the CPC needs.

“We wanted to make sure that we were not just checking boxes to ensure that we met the charter requirements, but to really do a deep dive into each of these individuals to determine whether or not they can truly hold the best interests of the residents,” he said. “And we believe that we've absolutely done that.”

The CPC was granted the power of having the final say in police discipline and polices, thanks to the passage of Issue 24 in 2021.  But the past few years have been rocky for the group. Consistent infighting and low meeting attendance has prevented them from fulfilling many of their duties.  They have yet to take up a case of police misconduct, but the body has been able to administer some grants for violence prevention. 

The mayor’s office came up with the latest nominees with the help of some current CPC leaders and community-led violence prevention group Citizens for a Safer Cleveland.