I-Team: Expensive police equipment going unused
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has found big bucks were spent on new technology for Cleveland police to help protect you. But much of that equipment has not been used on the streets.
For example, you don’t see Cleveland police drones overhead collecting evidence.
The I-Team learned city council approved buying drones with grant money two years ago. But after all this time, the drones have only been ordered.
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Yet many other local police departments use drones to fight crime and find missing people.
In the meantime, most Cleveland officers can’t record video using dashboard cameras, even though they were installed in all patrol cars.
Yet many other police departments have recorded with dashcams for a very long time.
The Cleveland police union has become frustrated with delays using the technology.
“They said they need to rush this now because the equipment’s getting old and will be out of date,” Andy Gasiewski, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association, told us. “They want to do it last second and rush everything through, so we can get trained. And how good is the training when they’re rushing everything?”
Sgt. Freddy Diaz said, “So, we’re moving forward with the training.”
Diaz told us nearly half of patrol officers are using the dashcams now.
We asked why it has taken so long to get to this point.
“Well, I think the most important part is, we have to make sure this is all constitutionally sound, right?” Diaz said. “We have to make sure that we’re abiding by the constitution, making sure policies are implemented.”
As for the delay with the drones, a memo shows the city planned to buy drones back in 2022.
But City Hall says former safety director Karrie Howard never developed policies for drones. That only came to light after he recently resigned.
“Drones were purchased through a grant for law enforcement. After the previous director resigned, it was discovered that he never drafted a formal plan and/or policies,” reads a city email. “Upon learning that, the Department of Public Safety has been reviewing documents, researching best practices, and having conversations about how to best deploy and implement a drone program.
“These are crucial steps in the process as we must carefully balance the legality of implementing this new technology, in compliance with the consent decree and Community Police Commission, while also ensuring that we are maximizing the full capability of these resources to improve safety for our residents.”
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City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Michael Polensek reacted with anger.
“I lobbied for this stuff for years,” he told us. “Fix it. Fix it for our men and women in blue. We pay taxes for services, and we’re not getting them. I want protection.”
Cleveland City Hall has now taken steps toward eventually getting police drones up and all police car cameras rolling.
But taxpayers have more waiting to do before they see Cleveland police using what other police departments have used for years.
Cleveland police hope to have all patrol officers using dashcams by the end of June. The start date for using drones is still unclear.
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