Eric J Brewer: Forest Gump is smarter than Mayor Frank Jackson. I'm amazed at how after nearly 12 years in office Jackson doesn't understand that he's been “suckered” by Chief of Police Calvin Williams, Safety Director Michael McGrath and Executive Assistant Martin Flask. As mayor I'd fire all three my first day on the job. I'd hope they had sense enough to resign.

Let's look to Article 8 and section “L” of the collective bargaining agreement the city signed with the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association (CPPA). It will explain why Jackson's decision to file “administrative charges” against the cops who murdered Tamir Rice 783 days after-the-fact makes him look foolish. Read the next paragraph and here's a link to the entire document. https://drive.google.com/…/0B_l2VAn8n4jkS3p0VjZ4ZVRnM0U/view

“In such cases where the administrative investigation is initiated without a citizens' complaint, and the investigation could not lead to criminal charges, the city shall not bring administrative charges later than one year after the date within which the Chief had knowledge of the alleged violation. If the administrative charges are not brought within one year, the accused member may be ordered to respond to the complaint and to the investigation, but not shall not be subject to disciplinary action. The city may be granted an additional 90 days for good cause shown.”

Y'all see that. Right? The maximum amount of time for administratively charging the cops involved in Tamir's death is one year and 90 days. Not two years and 53 days. No discipline if no charges are filed in a year. The only difference in the clause is that it was under Article 31 in the last labor agreement. This is why every gotdamned time Jackson lets Flask, McGrath and Williams con him into this “Groundhog Day” administrative process bullshit shit he loses in arbitration and the cop is returned to work with a big fat back pay check. We already know where this bullshit is going.

I was heavily-involved with Ken Adams, my deputy safety director, and my law director, the late Almeta Johnson in our first negotiations with police and fire unions. The rest of the unions were easier. We had 9.

I told Jackson when we first met after both of us took office in 2006 that he had to read everything because employees will fuck you with what you don't know. I was Mayor Emmanuel Onunwor's chief of staff and one of Mayor Mike White's special assistants before I was elected as East Cleveland's mayor. I worked for or published newspapers that covered this town's mayors, and I have written about every mayor since Dennis Kucinich. I shot pool with Mayor Carl Stokes. I've been watching city employees and elected officials do crooked shit all my adult life. City workers love a non-reading mayor.

Jackson sounds foolish when he blames “the system” that's identified in a fucking labor contract he signed, and was supposed to have read and enforced along with three other legal and personnel employees. They are law director Barbara Langhenry, human resources director Deborah Southerington and labor relations manager Nycole D. West.

There's close to $2 million in salaries, benefits and expenses taxpayers are spending on Jackson, Williams, McGrath, Flask, Langhenry, Southerington and West; and none of them performs the duties of the public offices they hold in the manner spelled out in the agreement they negotiated and signed. Once council ratifies the contract through an ordinance it becomes a law. Failure to perform the duties described in this law is dereliction of duty under Ord. No. 615.12(e).

Jackson doesn't understand it, but this is why I've accused him of being involved in a criminal conspiracy with the police to deprive Cleveland citizens of their constitutional rights. The cop bosses already know the outcome when they send his non-reading ass down this “administrative” path. The solution is for the mayor to assign his prosecutor to criminally prosecute cops for the offenses they commit. With all due respect, this is just plain intellectual laziness and neglect of duty.

I know my language is impertinent, but I've been watching Jackson do this same bumbling assed shit since he led city council after I worked for White and when Jane Campbell seved as mayor. Some of you may remember me going knee deep in Campbell's ass when I published Cleveland Challenger and cops killed damn near two dozen people. This is why supporters are circulating petitions for me to challenge Jackson for the mayor's job this year.

When I worked for White he assigned me to review Flask's disciplinary decisions while he was chief of police. Henry Guzman was safety director and Barry Withers was White's executive assistant over public safety. A Plain Dealer reporter was developing a story about cop crimes being converted to administrative offenses under Flask and Guzman. Mike wanted my perspective and assigned me to prepare Guzman and Flask for the interview.

Mike had already asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate police racism. Not long after the interview he stripped Flask of the chief's duties and appointed a captain named Mary Bounds in 2001. I knew when Jackson appointed Flask as safety director and McGrath as chief he was making a huge mistake. The fact that after 783 days administrative charges are being filed against Tamir Rice's killer and accomplice, Tim Loehman and Frank Garmback, is proof that I was right.

What I see in all this are carefully avoided duties Flask, McGrath and Williams are engaging in to protect the cops. All three are former CPPA and FOP members. They're criminals in uniform who preside over this “convolution” of concealing cop crimes to convert them to administrative offenses to protect the “members” and their pensions and benefits. Flask, McGrath and Williams could not have risen to the top without their own past violations of laws and civil rights being converted to administrative offenses.

So, Sam Rice, I know you're reading. I don't have a problem with Subodh Chandra, your lawyer, but he was Campbell's law director. He was responsible for assisting Campbell in creating a constitutionally-compliant police department and did not. The first U.S. Department of Justice letter from Steven Rosen was addressed to Chandra. Here's a copy. It's dated July 23, 2002. Nearly 15 years ago. He's not going to be that aggressive when it comes to challenging police he once legally protected.https://www.justice.gov/…/lega…/2010/12/15/cleveland_uof.pdf

Samaria, you should also know that Jackson's administrative charges are a waste of time. My Grandfather Ernest Brewer, Sr. told my Dad, Harold Brewer, that politicians like him offer nothing but the “empty hand of hope.” Ain't no hope in Frank's hands.

There's a new president coming who's made some “what do you have to lose?” promises to the Descendants of Slaves and people who share our hue but not our history in this nation. The anticipated new U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Senator Jeffrey Sessions, comes from a state that desegregated its schools in 1963. This town couldn't get it together until. 1977. Cleveland operates like the old south. My point is that Sessions may not be the “racist” the Democrats are calling him. Frank's a Democrat and he's done nothing to protect your son's rights.

I believe not only in prosecuting cops, but prosecuting from the mayor down since Jackson is Cleveland's chief law enforcement officer in his role as the chief conservator of the peace. When he conceals crimes with administrative charges he's the ring leader in the conspiracy to deprive Tamir of his constitutional rights.

Sessions might want to set a once-and-for-all example of criminally prosecuting a mayor and every police leader below him pursuant to Title 241 and 242 of the United States Code for the deprivation of Tamir's rights under the color of law. The administrative charges are an aid in the concealment of cop crimes. There will be no justice until Jackson's criminal justice flaws are fully-exposed, understood and realigned to comply with the legal duties and limits of police authority. The goal is constitutional compliant law enforcement.

No mayor should ever convert or allow to be converted, a cop crime to an administrative offense. R.C. 737.11 demands that police obey and enforce all federal and state criminal laws without exception, and there is no exemption anywhere that authorizes a mayor to administratively charge them for criminal offenses.

Why do you think East Cleveland cops worked so hard with the city's former mayor to get me out of office. I'd already asked for a U.S. Department of Justice "pattern and practice" investigation and was taking over the internal affairs complaint process if I'd won a second term. Police accountability begins at the top.

Blaine Griffin, tell your boss not to waste our time.