Cleveland’s chief of police abruptly resigned in the wake of incoming Mayor Justin Bibb’s election Tuesday.
“I said, if you’re not running for mayor, I’m out the door with you,” Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said Thursday, referring to outgoing Mayor Frank Jackson. “I only told a few folks, some of our command staff, my family and close friends that if the mayor wasn’t gonna be sitting in that seat in 2022, I wouldn’t be sitting in the seat next to him… This is my last official act as the Chief of this division. I’m gonna miss you guys.”
Williams had served in the role since 2014.
His tenure was marked by a few major events that made national news, including his successful handling of the massive Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016.
Another was the 2014 death of Tamir Rice, a teenager who was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann. Rice’s death sparked international outrage. He was shot and killed in a park while holding a replica airsoft handgun. Loehmann was eventually fired but never charged with a crime.
On the campaign trail, Bibb made his opposition to Williams known.
Issue 24, establishing a citizen oversight board for the Cleveland Police Department among other reforms, was a major ballot issue, with residents of the city overwhelmingly voting in favor of the measure.
Williams and the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association did not support Issue 24, claiming that officers would quit if it passed.
Bibb celebrated the Issue 24 passage during his campaign victory speech Tuesday night, taking a swipe at the Cleveland Police Department, and indirectly at Williams.
“After we lost Tamir, after we lost George Floyd, we knew that we could not have more of the same,” he reportedly said. “We’re gonna show the nation that in Cleveland, we can have good, smart law enforcement that also respects the rights of our residents.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams” by the City of Cleveland.
