CLEVELAND — Shortly after police officials saw Fox 8′s I-Team investigation showing two Cleveland officers spending hours sitting in a dark parking lot, they began an internal investigation.
We have now learned the officers are facing a possible lengthy suspension.
“This is a serious offense,” said Martin Flask, Director of Public Safety for the City of Cleveland. “The chief after his review believes that if found guilty, it certainly merits more than a 10 day suspension.”
Our investigation started Oct. 31. We spotted patrol car 341 on three different nights parked in a parking lot off of East 38th Street.
We also examined the duty reports the officers submitted. The officers wrote on those logs that they worked steady through the midnight shift, giving special attention to several areas, even though our cameras showed they were in the parking lot, and at times had their feet out the window.
Police Union President Jeff Follmer says the officers know they were wrong and are apologetic.
“We are going in there saying we are sorry,” Follmer said. “Saying the officers weren’t right on those nights, the safety director can discipline up to 30 days.”
Several councilmen said they are concerned the officers spent so much time in the parking lot and weren’t out patrolling the streets.
Councilman Jeff Johnson says the citizens that live in the area deserve better protection.
“Because we need to send a signal if, and in fact, they are found to have violated departmental rules, a signal needs to be sent that if you are out there working you need to be out there working your zone. You need to be visible,” Johnson said.
The officers’ disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next week.
