Former Community Police Commission member says recent appointments violate city charter; council hears accusations

Terry Wong, a former commissioner of the Cleveland Community Police Commission, told City Council on March 31 that recent appointments to the commission violated Charter Section 115 and undermined civilian oversight.

Wong said she had sent a taxpayer demand letter to Law Director Mark Griffin and that, when disciplinary records were released, they proved the appointments were "illegitimate." She quoted the charter language as saying "no police association representative may have a record of police misconduct whether adjudicated or not," and identified appointees by name, including James Tura and Sheila Mason, asserting the released records showed past misconduct or discipline. Wong said the city had ignored the charter and urged officials, including Council President Blaine Griffin and Mayor Justin Bibb, to remove the appointees and restart the commission selection process.

Wong framed the issue as one of systemic failure, saying the appointments and the city's response had "crushed the democratic will of the people" and described the situation as "systemic, deliberate, and possibly a criminal conspiracy to dismantle civilian oversight." Her remarks were delivered during public comment; neither the law director nor the mayor responded on the record during the March 31 meeting and no formal council action or referral was recorded in the transcript.

The transcript shows appointments and oaths of office for multiple members of the Community Police Commission and other bodies were announced earlier in the meeting; those oath readings were part of the communications and appointments section of the agenda. Wong's public comment asked the council to act to enforce the charter's eligibility requirements for commission appointees.