Cleveland Community Police Commission Hires Executive Director

Cleveland’s Community Police Commission has hired an executive director and plans to add more staff to manage the group’s work.

The new director, Jason Goodrick, oversaw emergency management at Case Western Reserve University. Before that, he worked in the East Cleveland fire department and served as the city’s emergency manager.

Goodrick started as director earlier this week. In a phone interview, he said he wants to build a team to help support the commission.

“My vision is to help the commissioners build lasting and meaningful relationships between the police and the community that go far, far beyond the consent decree,” he said.

Earlier this year, the commission had planned to hire as executive director a prosecutor from a board that reviews New York City police misconduct cases. She withdrew for personal reasons, according to commission co-chair Mario Clopton-Zymler.

The city of Cleveland budgeted a staff of five for the commission. The group was created under the city’s 2015 police reform agreement with the Justice Department.