Several residents used the public comment period at Cleveland City Council’s Oct. 13 meeting to press the city on policing practices, internal district policing committee (DPC) governance and an incident they said showed police nonresponse.

Sabrina Otis, co-chair of the First District District Policing Committee, said volunteers in DPC roles are not being respected and said internal bylaws are not being followed. “We have issues with community relations, where our community relations representative refuses to talk to the co-chair because of her feelings,” Otis said. She said she has repeatedly requested action “for 1 year and 2 months” and asked that DPC co-chairs, treasurers and volunteers be “respected” and included in planning and events.

Austria Everson of Buckeye–Woodhill described coming upon a motor-vehicle crash and said emergency responders told her the incident was a police matter and that officers would likely not perform a breathalyzer or other enforcement. “When the police arrived, their focus was on us… The police let that man go, get back in his car and drive off,” Everson said. “Let me tell you now, I will never call the police again.” Her comments framed broader questions she said New Era Cleveland has about community public-safety options and police effectiveness.

Chairman Fahim of New Era referenced past federal counterintelligence tactics and criticized the use of police informants in the gas-station dispute near his neighborhood, saying an informant appeared in local news coverage and had an extensive criminal history. Fahim said the group will continue discussions about police informants and called for reimagining public safety and the police department.

No formal council action on policing or DPC governance was recorded during the meeting; comments were part of the public-comment period. Council members later praised volunteer and community engagement generally but did not adopt specific DPC governance changes in this session.

Ending: Council members acknowledged the concerns raised and memorialized other matters; no policy or ordinance change on policing was adopted at the Oct. 13 meeting.