A nonprofit organization overseeing police reforms in Seattle will monitor the agreement between Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at curbing abuses by police and improving officers' relationships with the communities they serve.
Officials announced Thursday that New York-based Police Assessment Resource Center will be the court-appointed monitor for the consent decree. The agreement was reached after the Department of Justice concluded Cleveland's police too often used excessive force and violated people's civil rights.
The center is expected to oversee the agreement for at least the next five years. Cleveland officials recently estimated that the city will pay $1.6 million annually for a monitor.
A judge appointed the nonprofit to oversee a similar agreement in Seattle in October 2012.