Residents and oversight advocates press council to fill Civilian Police Review Board seat amid independence concerns

Members of the public and community oversight groups used the council’s public-comment period to press Cleveland City Council to fill a long-open seat on the Civilian Police Review Board and to raise concerns about the commission’s independence.

The call to act centered on a still-vacant seat and allegations that the law department and other city officials have exerted undue influence over the independent oversight body. “You have 1 more seat for the black shield,” public commenter Brenda Bickerstaff said, calling attention to what she described as a vacancy she said had persisted for “over a hundred days.”

Former community police commissioner Terry Wong said the charter’s rules bar officers with prior discipline from serving on the oversight commission and accused recent appointments of eroding the panel’s independence. “The law department now effectively controls the independent…