Cleveland鈥檚 law director said it's time for the city to be released from its federal consent decree related to policing.
Mark Griffin said while no formal request has yet been made with the judge overseeing the consent decree, city lawyers have had conversations with the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 office and the Department of Justice.
"We believe that we have satisfied the goals of the consent decree and we believe it鈥檚 time to transition to local leadership," Griffin told members of council at a Wednesday budget hearing.
Cleveland entered its after a DOJ investigation found the city鈥檚 division of police engaged in a pattern of excessive force.
Griffin began making a similar argument to Judge Solomon Oliver, the federal judge overseeing the consent decree during a status hearing in 2022, arguing at the time the city had satisfied the "broad goals" of the agreement and only had "procedural" details left to complete.
At the time, Judge Oliver said he could not release the city yet, and he hoped the city and Department of Justice would eventually come into court in agreement that the city has completed the consent decree.
There's no indication that has occurred. The city recently requested a five-day extension to February 23 to make a recommendation on whether to extend the contract of the current monitor, Christine Cole.
At the last hearing in front of Judge Oliver, which was not open to the public, the city and monitor submitted a plan for 2026, which included 15 separate assessments of the city's progress toward completing elements of the consent decree.
In October, the city released the findings of the monitor鈥檚 17th semiannual report, which offers an overview of the city鈥檚 progress toward completing each of the hundreds of requirements in the consent decree. The city received 20 鈥渦pgrades鈥� in areas including use of force, accountability and transparency.
The department also received high grades for its crisis intervention program. An assessment filed in federal court found the city had met the consent decree requirements for how it responds to people in mental health crisis.
鈥淭he work has been extraordinary,鈥� Cole told city council members in late September. 鈥淥fficers have really taken on doing the work in crisis intervention.鈥�
The mayor's proposed budget for 2026 includes $5 million under the heading "Department of Justice," which is described as covering all activities related to the consent decree.
