CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ayesha Hardaway returns to her position on a panel overseeing Cleveland police reform efforts a month after she stepped down over her comments convicting Derek Chauvin.
Hardaway said Monday that she would continue to evaluate officials’ performance as a deputy observer. Hassan Aden, the head of the surveillance team, asked her earlier this month to rejoin the group.
“I have decided that it is in the best interests of our community to resume my work as an assistant observer on the independent monitoring team,” Hardaway said in a statement. “My dauntless commitment to assessing the implementation of constitutional policing in the City of Cleveland remains as focused as it was when I started work [in 2015]. “
Following Hardaway’s comments in a radio interview when she described police work as “pathologically violent and particularly brutal in its interactions with blacks,” Aden sought to move Hardaway from evaluating officers’ behavior to focusing on community relations.
Cleveland officials questioned Hardaway’s objectivity, based on the testimony and a tweet in which critics were as “trigger happy as some of those badge guys” about a Columbus police shootout. Instead of accepting the move, Hardaway resigned.
Hardaway said she looked forward to continuing to make “meaningful recommendations” about the police.
“At times the work was frustrating and, as many now know, even hostile throughout the process,” said Hardaway, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
“However, being able to make meaningful recommendations and assessments that could improve the delivery of police services has forced me to use my education, skills, and voice to make my contribution.”
Last month, community groups urged the city and the Justice Department to remove Aden. On Monday he sounded optimistic about Hardaway’s return.
“I’m happy to have Ayesha back,” said Aden. “We look forward to the next stages of the decree, which will require assessments and audits. It will require the full concentration of our team. “
Aden leads the team working with city officials and the Justice Department on a consent decree that was created in 2015 after decades of allegations of extensive use of force and misconduct by officials.
It consists of around a dozen members, including national police experts on issues such as crisis intervention and the use of force. Aden, for example, is a former police chief in Greenville, North Carolina. Team members make $ 250 an hour, although they are expected to work pro bono for up to 25 percent of their hours.
Three members are from Cleveland: Charles See, Victor Ruiz, and Timothy Tramble, all of whom have held senior positions with nonprofits.
Senior District Judge Solomon Oliver assesses the progress of reform efforts. Last week, Oliver said in a court file that he supports Aden’s work.
“I feel better knowing that Professor Hardaway will be involved in the process of assessing police compliance with the requirements of the Consent Decree,” said Lewis Katz, co-chair of the Cleveland Community Police Commission. The committee makes recommendations to the department.
Gregory White, the city’s chief working with the Justice Department and the surveillance team on the consent decree, said Hardaway’s return did not surprise him. But he deals with other issues.
“I’m not focusing on the surveillance team,” White said. “My focus is on getting the city in the best possible place for the approval decree before a new government comes.”
