operation legend

City officials have approval from the Cleveland City Council Safety Committee to apply for a U.S. Department of Justice grant that would provide funding for Operation Legend, formerly known as Operation Relentless Pursuit. The nearly $8 million grant would reimburse the city for the salaries and benefits of 30 Cleveland police officers, to be hired as part of task forces meant to break up large-scale crime in the city. The first wave of officers have already been selected, said Justin Herdman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

City of Cleveland officials sought on Friday to refute concerns that the federal government is sending federal agents to Cleveland to replicate the scenes in Portland, Ore., where agents from the Department of Homeland Security detained protestors using unmarked vans. Officials called the conference to address news of Cleveland’s inclusion in Operation Legend, a federal law enforcement operation that sends agents from several federal agencies to cities to combat crime.