New searchable database reveals decade of Cleveland police discipline records

After years of fragmented public records, one outlet and Cleveland Documenters have launched a searchable platform that consolidates disciplinary hearings, decisions and arbitration outcomes for over 1,000 Cleveland Division of Police personnel between 2016 and mid-2026. The database includes more than 1,800 cases involving officers, dispatchers and other staff, documenting a range of infractions from paperwork errors to excessive-force allegations, body-camera violations and untruthfulness.

Analysis of the data shows that nearly 40% of employees had multiple hearings, only 71 cases ended in termination, and body-camera breaches appear in over one-fifth of hearings. The tool arrives as Cleveland’s community police commission, created by Issue 24, approaches its five-year anniversary and seeks to fulfill its mandate to disclose credibility-affecting information under Brady and Giglio precedents. Police unions, including the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, have called for the city to reflect grievance and arbitration outcomes in the public record. The project aims to make accountability information readily accessible to the public and to support oversight of repeat misconduct.