RTA Police Only Private Force Operating In Cleveland Without Authorizing Agreement With City!

Ideastream.org, By Matthew Richmond, Posted April 20th 2022

As Cleveland City Council weighs whether to expand the area patrolled by two of Cleveland’s non-municipal police departments, increased scrutiny is falling on oversight of those small, private agencies.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s police force is the sole private police agency that doesn’t have an authorizing agreement with the city that establishes the department’s boundaries. In 2018, elements from the Cleveland police consent decree were added to the other agreements.

“GCRTA Transit Police continues to work with the City in all aspects, including law enforcement for daily operations and special events affecting the residents of Greater Cleveland,” interim RTA spokesman Robert Fleig said via email.

RTA did not respond to follow-up questions about whether the agency ever had an agreement with the city, if it had expired or was canceled by the city and whether the agency had instituted any of the reformed policies and training required of other departments starting in 2018.

Cleveland’s interim Chief of Police Wayne Drummond has the authority to cancel any of the authorizing agreements between the city and departments run by Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Tri-C, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, University Circle, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and Metroparks.

“If allegations or information comes to our attention that those things are not being adhered to then obviously we have the ability to pull the memorandums of understanding from those particular agencies,” Drummond said.

It’s not clear the city could take any actions to prevent RTA police from operating within city boundaries.

According to Chris Martin of Clevelanders for Public Transit, RTA police only have agreements with Cleveland State University and East Cleveland.

“Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay nearly $15 million every year for GCRTA police without those agreements in place,” Martin said.

He first became interested in RTA’s authority when he noticed there were transit police assisting during the May 30, 2020 protests in Downtown Cleveland.

Agreements with other police agencies expire later this year.

Members of Cleveland City Council said this week they want stricter oversight and want all departments to start using body cameras.