The city of Cleveland and Department of Justice will announce as soon as this week how they are moving forward on agreed changes to the city’s police force, law enforcement officials tell CNN.
The consent decree is the next step after the city agreed to changes last year following a scathing report from DOJ investigators regarding patterns of civil rights violations and excessive force by the Cleveland police. It will mean years of court-supervised monitoring of the Cleveland Police Department.
When then-Attorney General Eric Holder announced the findings in December, the city’s mayor and police chief said they were in agreement that recommended changes had to be implemented. The agreement required the city to create a reform plan.
The timing of this next step comes following weekend protests that roiled Cleveland after the acquittal of a police officer accused of killing two unarmed black suspects.
In addition, the police are under pressure to explain the shooting death by another officer of a 12-year-old boy who was brandishing a pellet gun.