I-Team: Police commission ‘mixer’ set for City Hall postponed due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’

[In the player above, watch previous FOX 8 I-Team coverage on an explosive Cleveland police commission meeting in June 2023.]

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has learned plans have changed for a big crowd planning to attend a meet-and-greet “mixer” Friday evening at Cleveland City Hall. The event has been postponed.

This week, the I-Team revealed questions surrounding an event scheduled by the Cleveland Community Police Commission, including a snag in getting permission to hold the event inside City Hall.

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The commission had planned what it called a grantee mixer in the City Hall rotunda, an event for organizations that have received grant money from the commission to work in the community on mediation, violence prevention and restorative justice.

But an email sent out this week by the commission told folks planning to attend, “We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances the … mixer .. has been postponed. We understand the inconvenience this may have caused and sincerely apologize for any disruption to your plans.”

As of last Friday, days from the event, the commission still did not have approval from the city to use the rotunda. The mayor’s office told the I-Team the application for the event was “incomplete,” so no permit could be issued yet.

Additionally, the mayor’s office had told us the event was expected to include food served by a caterer.

But interim executive director Jason Goodrick had told us, “We haven’t spent any money. We don’t have any vendors.”

The commission has made headlines for in-fighting and sometimes loud and heated meetings, while not considering any cases.

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Voters approved having the commission oversee Cleveland police discipline and more, and members of the group were nominated to the commission in 2022.

But after all of this time, the commission still has not heard any cases.

Goodrick added the commission is working to finalize its procedures to start hearing cases.

As for the event scheduled for city hall, the police commission plans to reschedule it.

Goodrick told us last week the commission had awarded grants to more than two dozen organizations.

“The idea was to get everybody in a room to meet each other,” he said.

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