This is The Marshall Project - Cleveland’s newsletter, a twice monthly digest of criminal justice news from around Ohio gathered by our staff of local journalists. Want this delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to future newsletters.
Police drone policy takes flight
Cleveland officials have been campaigning all year to get police drones in the air.
On Nov. 20, the Cleveland Community Police Commission approved a final policy for the Cleveland Division of Police to use the technology. The commission sent the policy to the U.S. Department of Justice, which under a consent decree monitors policies, practices and procedures for constitutional policing and potential abuses of civil liberties —— like remotely flying camera-equipped aircraft over protests and homes.
A few days later, Cleveland police deployed one of the drones to monitor pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating outside of Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s home, though the policy didn’t authorize observing large gatherings and the DOJ hadn’t yet approved it. A police spokesman initially said the department followed the policy, citing a dated draft. Later, after some cajoling by the police commission, the department agreed to keep the drones on the ground until the policy is final.
The Cleveland City Council approved drones more than two years ago. Police officials bought them in February and sent a policy draft in October to the 13-member Cleveland Community Police Commission, which tweaked the proposal after hearing from community members. Out of 11 present, nine commissioners voted for the final version last month.
Commissioners removed language that would have allowed drone surveillance of large gatherings or crowds, such as protests. Using the devices for harassment or intimidation of individuals or groups, or to control crowds, would also be prohibited.
However, the final version would permit “additional legitimate law enforcement uses not listed,” so long as they do not violate the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections. The police chief or her designee would have to approve all deployments.
Piet van Lier, chair of the Police Policy Committee, told The Marshall Project - Cleveland that the final version drew from a model drone policy in Oakland, California, to require robust reporting and data collection, more narrowly defined uses, justification for unspecified use under “exigent circumstances,” and search warrants where the constitutional doctrine of a “reasonable expectation of privacy” would apply.
The policy, for example, requires flight paths to be posted online within 48 hours of deployment. Video that isn’t needed for a criminal or administrative investigation is to be deleted after 30 days. Van Lier said no policy is written in stone. He anticipates future revisions after the public sees the drones in action and the data they produce.
– Doug Livingston and Rachel Dissell
Event to highlight plans, problems at Cuyahoga County Jail
The Marshall Project - Cleveland is hosting a community event focusing on conditions inside the Cuyahoga County Jail and plans for the new jail coming to Garfield Heights.
The free event includes a showing of an episode of The Marshall Project’s series “Inside Story” and a Q&A session with our investigative reporters. The discussion will also feature insights and updates on current jail conditions and what the future holds for the new jail.
The Dec. 13 community event starts at 6 p.m. at Miss Os, 12672 Rockside Road, in Garfield Heights. For more information and updates, and to connect with our reporters, join our Facebook group.
32-bed facility proposed for youths charged with gun crimes
Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court officials recently shared new details for a 32-bed lockdown treatment facility to house youths found guilty of gun-related felonies.
When placing children outside their homes, juvenile judges have several options, including youth prisons, private residential treatment facilities and short-term youth care centers. County-run Community Corrections Facilities (CCF) are a step down from the state’s three understaffed and violent youth prisons.
“CCFs are preferable because they keep kids closer to home, allow for more family involvement and generally lead youth toward better outcomes upon release,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in September, endorsing the state’s Juvenile Justice Working Group’s recommendations to overhaul Ohio’s youth detention system.
DeWine said “amazingly” there are no Community Corrections Facilities in Cuyahoga, Hamilton or Franklin counties, which send the most youth to these detention facilities. The three counties are now bidding against each other with only enough state money set aside to build one until the next capital budget in 2026.
From 2019 through 2023, Cuyahoga County juvenile judges put more than 100 children — nearly a third of all out-of-home placements — in seven Community Corrections Facilities, according to The Marshall Project - Cleveland’s review of court records. The seven are at least one hour away in Sandusky or Canton, at least two hours away in Marion, Toledo or St. Clairsville, three hours away in Xenia or a four-hour drive to Hamilton in Butler County.
In his first appearance before the County Council’s Juvenile Court Advisory Subcommittee, Administrative Judge Thomas O’Malley of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court said County Executive Chris Ronayne has settled on 10 possible locations for the new multimillion-dollar facility. Several sites are near the courthouse and youth detention center off Opportunity Corridor.
A spokesperson for Ronayne said the county will not disclose details of its sealed bid.
– Doug Livingston
Summit Food Service LLC approved for Cuyahoga County Jail despite history of complaints, investigations
The new food vendor at the Cuyahoga County Jail has been accused of unsanitary conditions, rodent infestations and serving inadequate meals at jails from Pittsburgh to New Mexico.
Summit Food Service LLC was unanimously approved for a three-year, $18 million contract on Nov. 19 by the Cuyahoga County Public Safety & Justice Affairs Committee. For years, people incarcerated at the Cuyahoga County Jail complained about the food provided by now-former vendor Trinity Services Group.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department Special Assistant Jim Carbone told council committee members that Summit’s food “tasted pretty good.” The South Dakota-based company has food service contracts across the nation, including the Cook County Jail in Chicago, which houses at least 5,500 incarcerated people.
Several jails have faced lawsuits and investigations after hiring Summit.
In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, incarcerated people reported poor food and working conditions after Summit came on, according to audits, media reports and jail surveys. In February 2023, Summit told a local news outlet that the company followed safety standards and all meal requirements in its contract with the jail. The county, which covers Pittsburgh, had been contracting with Trinity Services Group, but after months of government and media criticism for high prices, complaints about quality and pest infestations, it chose Summit.. Last year, Allegheny County switched back to Trinity.
In January 2024, a Fulton County Sheriff’s investigation at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia uncovered an alleged contraband smuggling network involving Summit Food employees. A warehouse supervisor, an assistant director and two food service workers were arrested and accused of smuggling tobacco into the facility. Summit, the company, was not charged.
Incarcerated women at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility sued the New Mexico Department of Corrections and Summit in a 2021 federal lawsuit arguing that it failed to address a severe rodent infestation in the kitchen and dining areas that contaminated the food. Rodents fell into pots of stew and oatmeal, according to the suit. In court documents, Summit acknowledged there were rodents at the facility but denied there was an “infestation” or any danger.
In 2019, the Boone County Grand Jury in Minnesota investigated the Boone County Jail and found that Summit’s meals were low in calories and nutritionally lacking. Summit disputed the findings, saying that it always provided nutritious meals. After the grand jury report, Boone County ended its contract with Summit in 2019 and switched to Trinity, which has remained the jail’s food service provider.
– Brittany Hailer
Around the 216
- Federal prosecutors charged former Cleveland City Council Member Basheer Jones with fraud and bribery, alleging that Jones, with help from a romantic partner, tried to defraud taxpayers of more than $200,000. Jones has not yet entered a plea in court. Signal Cleveland
- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley is using social media “to bring some transparency to the juvenile court process and to educate the public” about what some local law enforcement officials have characterized as an unprecedented epidemic of youth violence. WEWS News5
- Ohio Republicans amended House Bill 552 to require monthly checks of registered voters against Bureau of Motor Vehicles records that indicate U.S. citizenship. Under the proposed law, the Secretary of State would publish the names of voters in question until they provide proof of citizenship with a state ID, driver’s license, passport, birth record or certificate of naturalization. If failing to respond to two notices, the voter would be required to cast provisional ballots and be referred to the Ohio Attorney General or local prosecuting authority for criminal investigation. Ohio Legislative Service Commission
