February 19, 2026 — Cleveland — Today, the City of Cleveland and the United States Department of Justice filed a motion to terminate the Consent Decree and continue local accountability, following ten years of sustained progress and commitment to constitutional policing in the Division of Police. The City of Cleveland and the Department of Justice entered the Consent Decree in 2015, with the goal of creating and implementing policies and practices to repair community trust and protect the constitutional rights of the people of Cleveland.
“Cleveland’s Consent Decree began during a painful time in our city’s history. Our community’s courage and persistence shaped this reform process, and its engagement made progress possible,” said Mayor Bibb. “Today, reforms in Cleveland are self-sustaining, compliance has become culture, accountability is locally embedded, and local oversight remains.”
The City recently received 144 upgrades —one of the most important milestones to date— during seven Compliance Assessments filed by the independent Federal Monitoring Team.
“Cleveland had the courage to face its failures head-on and has done the hard work of building a truly accountable police force,” said City Council President, Blaine A. Griffin. “I’ve been at the table since the beginning of this effort and believe we’re now ready to determine our own destiny. We’ve made progress. We’re not going backward. We need to invest our resources upstream within the professional guardrails our community has put in place.”
Assessments filed to the Department of Justice by the Federal Monitoring Team demonstrate the City’s sustained progress and commitment to constitutional policing, validating the Cleveland Division of Police’s successful implementation of reforms related to the use of force, crisis intervention, stops and searches, arrests, recruitment, and various other areas.
“In seeking to transfer oversight functions from federal to local control, this joint motion reflects years of sustained, measurable progress, and an unwavering commitment to constitutional policing and increasing public trust in the City of Cleveland,” said Dr. Leigh Anderson, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Police Accountability Team. “Through comprehensive policy reform, strengthened accountability systems, enhanced training, improved data collection, and meaningful engagement, durable structures have been reformed to live successfully beyond federal oversight. Through progress evidenced by assessments completed by the Independent Federal Monitoring Team in such areas as Use of Force, Crisis Intervention, Search and Seizure and Training, we are confident that the systems in place are institutionalized and designed to ensure enduring accountability and continuous improvement in the area of public safety reform.”
The City stands committed to ensure constitutional policing continues to occur throughout our community and remains dedicated to reform, accountability, and best in class policing through an all-of-government approach.
“The progress achieved over more than a decade was not accidental —it was the result of sustained work, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to constitutional policing and strengthening community trust,” said Chief Dorothy Todd. “I extend my appreciation to the U.S. Department of Justice, Mayor Bibb, the Monitoring Team and the Police Accountability Team for their guidance and oversight throughout this process. I also share this achievement with the members of our Division of Police, whose resilience, professionalism, and dedication to serving our city made this progress possible.”
As we move forward, City of Cleveland officials will provide comprehensive updates as the parties involved move forward in this process. The Police Accountability Team and the Cleveland Division of Police will continue active engagement with residents, community leaders, advocacy groups, and officers to ensure that transparency and collaboration remain at every level.
