CLEVELAND — Reinforcements will soon be coming to the Cleveland Division of Police.
On Wednesday, Cleveland City Council adopted an ordinance which authorizes the city to accept a federal grant to hire 30 new police officers as a special unit to combat violent crime.
The $7.9 million grant comes from the Justice Department's program, "Operation Relentless Pursuit." Launched on Dec. 18, 2019, the initiative seeks to intensify federal law enforcement resources into seven American cities with violent crime levels several times the national average:
- Albuquerque
- Baltimore
- Cleveland
- Detroit
- Kansas City
- Memphis
- Milwaukee
The program will conduct surgical efforts in high-crime areas, focusing on ridding city streets of violent gangs and illegal drug operations.
“The Cleveland Police Department can’t fight violent crime by itself,” said Councilman Matt Zone, chairman of council’s Safety Committee.
You can watch Wednesday's Cleveland City Council meeting in the player below:
The Cleveland Division of Police is not the only organization benefitting from Operation Relentless Pursuit. The Ohio State Highway Patrol & Ohio Investigative Unit is receiving over $1.2 million for funding five positions, while the Ohio Division of Adult Parole Authority is receiving $752,000 for funding four positions.
“This funding from the Department of Justice is an important commitment in our continued fight against violent crime in Cleveland’s neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “These awards will help hire more police officers, highway patrol, adult parole officers, and investigators to help combat violent crime on the streets of our city. Operation Relentless Pursuit will enable us to continue building partnerships between multiple law enforcement divisions in order to better serve the public and bring dangerous, violent criminals to justice.”
The money from Operation Relentless Pursuit comes as the Cleveland Division of Police is mourning the loss of two of its officers. Detective James Skernivitz was fatally shot last week at West 65th Street and Storer Avenue, along with an informant. Officer Nick Sabo died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours later.
Skernivitz had been working alongside the Justice Department in its Operation Legend program where federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime. Since the program began earlier this summer, 66 defendants in Cleveland have been charged with federal crimes, including 41 defendants charged with narcotics-related offenses, 22 charged with firearms-related offenses and three with other violent crimes.
