CLEVELAND — A Cleveland City Councilman is calling for the resignation of the federal monitor overseeing the city’s police reforms after News 5 Investigators revealed Karl Racine was involved in an incident at the JACK Cleveland Casino in January.
Ward 16 Councilman Brian Kazy sent an “Open Letter to Step Down at Cleveland Monitor” to Racine Tuesday, which said Racine should “resign by Friday, March 21,” or he will send a formal request to U.S District Court Judge Solomon Oliver, the federal judge who oversees and enforces Cleveland’s consent decree.
During an interview Tuesday, Kazy said he called for Racine to resign because his reputation had been tarnished by his alleged behavior at the casino.
“To allegedly display this type of behavior and be in charge of our Cleveland Division of Police, and monitoring and reform is just not the right, it’s not the right message to send to the division of the police, to the police officers, Cleveland City Council or towards residents,” Kazy said.
According to police records, the incident involving Racine and an off-duty Cleveland police officer took place at the JACK Cleveland Casino in Downtown Cleveland at 2:34 a.m. on Jan. 7.
Monitor overseeing police reforms involved in incident at JACK Cleveland Casino
RELATED: Federal monitor overseeing Cleveland police reforms involved in incident at JACK Cleveland Casino
An off-duty Cleveland police officer, who was working secondary employment at the casino, requested a zone car come to the casino because Karl Racine was “intoxicated” and “refusing to leave.”
A police audio recording said Racine was already gone when officers arrived outside the building.
Here is the transcript of the recording:
“A Mr. Karl Racine was here. He was pretty intoxicated. He was refusing to leave. He has now left the outside of the building.”
In a statement to News 5 Investigators, Racine said he was looking for a bite to eat, was denied entry, and returned to his hotel.
“I am confident that I comported myself respectfully and appropriately,” he wrote.
Below is Racine’s full statement:
“Having flown into Cleveland that evening, I was looking for somewhere to have a late dinner and was told the Casino was one of the few places still serving food. I sought entry to have a bite to eat, but was denied entry, and returned to my hotel. I am confident that I comported myself respectfully and appropriately with the casino employees and the off duty officer. Indeed, that is the reason I questioned why I was being denied admission, and why I subsequently informed the Chief of Police of the occurrence. I chose not to file a complaint because I did not want this interaction to be a distraction from the important work we are doing.”
Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd confirmed Racine told her about his interaction with the off-duty officer on Jan. 8, “during which he was denied entry to the casino.”
Todd said she asked Racine if he wanted to file a formal complaint. He declined.
No further action was taken.
Below is the full statement from Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd:
“Chief Todd confirms that during a previously scheduled meeting on January 8th, Mr. Racine informed her of an interaction he had with an off-duty officer, during which he was denied entry to the casino. As with any information that could be considered a complaint, Mr. Racine was asked if he wished to file a formal complaint. He declined, and no further action was taken.”
Racine has been overseeing Cleveland Police reforms for two years.
According to court records, Cleveland paid his law firm, Hogan Lovells, $1.2 million between April 2023 and June 2024.
Current bills have been unavailable. The City of Cleveland and Racine have argued over their legal bills in court for months.
Cleveland has been under a federal consent decree since May 2015, after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found Cleveland Police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of excessive force.
You can read Kazy’s full letter below:
News 5 Investigators reached out to Racine for comment about Kazy’s letter. We have yet to receive a response.
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