CLEVELAND — The president of the Cleveland police union is calling upon Mayor Justin Bibb to fire Karrie Howard, the city’s public safety director.
Of the police union, 868 members voted in favor of no confidence and 38 members voted against it, according to union president Jeff Follmer. Another 109 members did not vote.
The vote was taken after comments, which Follmer called biased, were made by Howard at a forum last week. The comments in question were regarding the Irish history of the police department and were made when Howard was asked about recruiting applicants to the department.
“The Irish flooded the police departments,” Howard said. “The Irish flooded fire departments. The Irish flooded safety forces to the point where we have bagpipes, kilts and, you know, all this green when we celebrate it.”
Howard later apologized for what he said, but Follmer said he doesn’t accept his apology.
“The mayor is his boss, and he has a choice to get rid of him,” Follmer said Wednesday after revealing the results of the no confidence vote.
Meanwhile, Bibb responded to the vote by union members. In a statement, he said:
“Recent comments made by Chief Director of Public Safety Karrie Howard have upset and angered many in our community. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association (CPPA), Fraternal Order of Police Cleveland Lodge No. 8, and International Association of Firefighters Local 93 have reached out to me regarding these comments. Earlier today, the CPPA released the results of a vote of no confidence they held regarding Howard’s leadership. I hear your frustration and I respect your concerns. As the son of a police officer and firefighter, I have the utmost admiration and gratitude for the work that our first responders do. I hold the professionals who bravely serve our city in the highest regard, and this is a situation that we take very seriously. We simply will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in any department in this administration. As you know, Chief Howard has issued an apology and I believe that apology is sincere. As many of us who do our work in the public eye know, there are times when we make errors in judgement and fail to express ourselves well. Chief Director Howard works hard each and every day to keep our city safe for all residents. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience and is committed to accountability for himself and for the department. There are countless challenges that his guidance has helped us to navigate successfully, and I have full confidence in his ability to continue to lead the Department of Public Safety. My hope is that this is a situation that we can learn from and that we will continue to have hard conversations that help us build bridges and heal divides.”
