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Police officer who made antisemitic comments will keep job, Cleveland officials announced

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Chief of Police Wayne Drummond said in a joint statement that they are “frustrated and disappointed that no charges can be filed.”

By Dion J. Pierre. The Algemeiner

A Cleveland police officer with a history of antisemitic social media activity will not be disciplined by his department, according to a local report.

The internal affairs office of the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) began investigating Ismail Quran, a former “Officer of the Year,” in June after Canary Mission publicized his antisemitic tweets, including two that said “Let me salute to Hitler the great” and “Scumbag Yahoodi.”

On Wednesday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Chief of Police Wayne Drummond said in a joint statement that they are “frustrated and disappointed that no charges can be filed,” explaining that Quran’s actions took place “years before he was hired.” They added that disciplining him is “impossible.”

“Antisemitism and bigotry are reprehensible and have no place in our community or police department,” Bibb and Drummon continued. “We have zero tolerance for dangerous and hateful rhetoric directed at our Jewish communities. This type of hate speech is a horrible example of explicit bias in our police force. We cannot emphasize strongly enough that discrimination of any kind, against anyone, simply will not be tolerated.”

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In a statement provided to an NBC affiliate, the American Jewish Committee maintained that Quran’s behavior “is unbecoming of any member of law enforcement” but also commended new policies implemented by Cleveland Division of Police to ensure that the backgrounds of prospective hires are critically examined.

“We thank Mayor Bibb and Chief Drummond for their unequivocal condemnation of such language and for taking steps to ensure that hate and antisemitism have no place in Cleveland,” AJC said.

WYKC 3 added that Cleveland Division of Police, in lieu of firing Quran, is partnering with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to train officers on best practices for investigating hate crimes and extremists, which all officers must complete by year’s end, 2023. According to another report, the department will also hold courses on bias and cultural competency, require future hiring candidates to participate in “behavioral-based interviews,” and monitor the social media accounts of its officers.

“Under the circumstances, these are the steps that we can take as a city to reinforce our values and expectations of all employees and help the community heal,” Bibb and Drummond said.