CLEVELAND — Former Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine has been appointed to lead the consent decree monitoring team overseeing reform efforts in the Cleveland Division of Police, according to court records obtained by 3News.
U.S. District Senior Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. signed off on the hire Wednesday afternoon, while also officially naming Racine's law firm of Hogan Lovells to head the monitoring team's operations. Hogan Lovells had been named as one of two finalists for the job along with J.S. Held, with both firms holding community forums during the month of March.
A native of Haiti, Racine had a distinguished career in private practice and served as associate White House counsel during President Bill Clinton's administration before becoming Washington, D.C.'s first elected attorney general in 2014. During his tenure, the Democrat largely focused on issues related to affordable housing along with worker and consumer protection, including a lawsuit against DoorDash that resulted in a settlement of more than $1 million for delivery drivers.
The 60-year-old Racine joined Hogan Lovells as a partner this past January, but while his profile lists his specialties as litigation, arbitration, and employment, neither he nor the firm mention much experience dealing with consent decrees. Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin acknowledged this last month, but still expressed confidence that whichever organization was selected would surround themselves with the right people.
"Lead monitors then go out and find individuals that bring in skillsets that they may not have and experience they may not have," Griffin told WKYC at the time, "so as a collective, each of these teams have significant experience with consent decrees."
The U.S. Department of Justice first enacted the consent decree following a multi-year investigation of Cleveland's police department, brought on by several high-profile use-of-force incidents including the infamous "137 shots" case that led to the deaths of two unarmed motorists. The final report — ironically released just 12 days after the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice — chastised the division for repeated "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force," multiple instances of cops "carelessly fir[ing] their weapons," and a prevailing belief among the city's Black citizens that "officers are verbally and physically aggressive toward them because of their race."
Back in October, Oliver extended the decree's enforcement for at least two years, saying the department "has not yet achieved substantial and effective compliance" despite "substantial progress." The city has released data showing overall use-of-force incidents are down 42% since 2019, but in a recent 144-page report, the monitoring team still pointed to things like accountability, search and seizure, and transparency and oversight as areas of concern.
The hiring of Racine and Hogan Lovells ends a period of relative turmoil for the monitoring team, notably when former Lead Monitor Hassan Aden pushed for the removal of Deputy Monitor Ayesha Bell Hardaway in 2021 amid accusations of anti-police bias. Hardaway offered her resignation before Aden backed down amid public outcry, and instead, the lead monitor and former Greenville, North Carolina, police chief chose to step down himself this past Nov. 8.
Hardaway, a Case Western Reserve University law professor, was named interim lead monitor following Aden's departure and was seen by some as a frontrunner for the permanent job, but for reasons unknown did not apply for the position. It is unknown if Hogan Lovells will retain her or any of the remaining 17 members on the team, although Griffin previously expressed his belief at last some of them would stay on.
Since the monitoring team's formation, Racine will be its third full-time lead monitor. Cleveland taxpayers foot the bill for the group, with Griffin expecting members to make upwards of $250 an hour with Hogan Lovells now in charge.