CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Police Department told Channel 3 Thursday that Mayor Frank Jackson did not ask officers visiting his home as part of Aug. 28 murder investigation to turn off their body cameras.
The department was responding to questions Channel 3 asked Jackson’s office and Police Chief Calvin Williams’ office about reports that officers turned off their digital recording devices when they arrived at the mayor’s house shortly after a deadly West Side shooting. The station also raised the question in a story that aired Wednesday.
Channel 3 also asked what part, if any, of the police visit to the mayor’s house was recorded, or if such recordings really exist. The police department did not offer any further response. The city has denied a public records request for any such recordings, claiming they are part of an ongoing investigation. (Police did release officer recordings from the Aug. 28 shooting scene, which can be viewed below.)
The city’s policy on body cameras dictate that in most cases officers record traffic stops, arrests, searches, and interviews, among other situations. But the policy also states people at home have the right to demand police shut off cameras before talking. Police officers also have discretion to turn off the camera to facilitate interviews.
Jackson also said Thursday, while talking in third person in a YouTube video, that he did not ask officers to turn off cameras but he does not elaborate.
Channel 3 is choosing not to broadcast portions of the mayor's YouTube video beyond the opening statement because it’s an edited interview with a reporter who is not identified in the video. Also, it’s unclear from the video what questions were asked and if follow up responses were edited out. (Cleveland.com acknowledged in a story Thursday that its City Hall reporter, Robert Higgs, conducted the interview.)
Police went to the mayor's house on Aug. 28 following a tip that a car speeding away from the murder scene was registered to Jackson’s live-in grandson, 22-year-old Frank Q. Jackson, sources have told Channel 3.
When police arrived there, they found the mayor and his grandson. The mayor told officers his grandson would answer questions the next morning. A lawyer for the mayor’s grandson said the next day Frank Q. Jackson was not talking and that he was not involved in the shooting that left 30-year-old Antonio Parra dead.
Questions about the mayor’s interaction and objectivity have sparked calls from officials for an outside agency to take over the murder investigation. The mayor said in his video that such calls are unnecessary because he has not interfered in any police matters related to his family.
Jackson challenged viewers in his opening remarks to choose who to believe, him or the media.
“Neither I or anyone associated with me interfered in any investigation or determining any charges in regards to any member of my family,” Mayor Jackson declared in his opening statement. “You can choose to believe the media, or you can believe me. That is your choice.”