Former Police Union Head Steve Loomis Suspended For Facebook Posts

Former Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association president Steve Loomis has been suspended for one day for material he posted on Facebook last year. The decision was announced Tuesday during September’s Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) meeting.

The suspension is the result of an anonymous civilian complaint filed with the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) June 22, 2020, saying that Loomis’ since-deleted Facebook posts were offensive to the African American community.

According to OPS investigator Julie Delaney, Loomis called Colin Kaepernick “Martin Luther Kaepernick” and Baker Mayfield “Baker Sharpton,” in a post about National Football League players kneeling during the national anthem.

Loomis also directly attacked Vincent Montague, president of the Black Shield Association, saying he spoke with a “forked tongue” and “hypocrisy” when he publicly supported police reform during a 2020 Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association event on police reform.

Loomis told OPS investigators he was the author of the posts. Until 2017, he served as president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents Cleveland Division of Police patrol officers. After a controversial union endorsement of Donald Trump for president in 2016, Loomis was voted out of the position. He has since been promoted to homicide detective.

During its March meeting, the CPRB recommended a Group 2 violation and a six-to-ten day suspension for Loomis.

Public Safety Director Karrie Howard instead decided on a Group 1 violation for Loomis and handed down a one day suspension. According to OPS, Howard explained his decision by saying it was unknown how much of a negative effect Loomis’ published comments had on the public.