'Leadership problem' has made North Ridgeville Police Dept. toxic, union says

A survey conducted by the North Ridgeville Police Association shows fear, low morale and high turnover inside the North Ridgeville Police Department. Union representatives place the blame squarely on longtime Chief Michael Freeman. After The Chronicle-Telegram reported that the city had initiated a third-party review of the department, a source provided a copy of a workplace climate study conducted by the NRPA during the first two months of April. It is unclear if that review has begun, but Mayor Kevin Corcoran said it was initiated because of numerous complaints against Freeman and "alarming" turnover rates in the department. The survey was sent to Corcoran and City Council members April 24 along with a letter from NRPA President John Zingale. Of the 43 possible respondents in the NRPD at the time, 39 answered the survey including 25 patrol officers or detectives, 11 sergeants or lieutenants and seven dispatchers, clerks and secretaries. While the results showed members of the department were largely happy with their regular duties and with working in North Ridgeville, some raised concerns among city officials and union members. Brian Holb, general counsel and director of government relations for the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the survey showed that officers in the department felt bullied and ignored by leadership. "It shows, from a very high level, that the officers are very engaged and happy with being police officers in North Ridgeville," Holb said. "But there is clearly a leadership problem there, to where they don't feel comfortable bringing issues forward or being involved … because (Freeman) is just not receptive to those types of things." A total of 85 percent of the respondents said they felt the administration did not effectively deal with conflicts within the department, and 72 percent believed the department administration "does not care what happens to their employees." Every respondent to the survey disagreed that morale within the department was high, and 79 percent said they had "no confidence in the chief of police as a competent leader." "As a 12-year employee of the police department, I find these results alarming and disturbing," Zingale said in the letter. "I trust that, as leaders of the city government, you do as well." Holb said the root of the issue was the fact that Freeman was not approachable and would often grow hostile when employees had issues or conflicts. "(Because) of the way that he acts when you approach him," Holb said. "I mean he'll shout you down, he'll cuss at you, he gets visibly upset and starts shaking, raises his voice and just — it really seems like any challenge to his authority, even if it's meant to be constructive, is just not allowed." Holb said that this once raised to the level of Freeman grabbing an officer by the shirt collar while berating them. "It's a huge issue," he said. "It infects every corner of the department. If these folks don't feel like their leadership has their best interests in mind, it makes it hard to go out and do an already difficult job." Freeman did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication. The review of the Police Department, which will be carried out by Cleveland law firm Stefanik, Iosue and Associates, was put in place largely due to the high turnover the department had seen in recent years, according to an email from Corcoran. Zingale told The Chronicle-Telegram that since late 2019, the department has lost nine officers and five dispatchers "by my count." He added that two of those officers had more than 20 years of experience in North Ridgeville. In his letter to City Council, Zingale said the department expects to lose 14 more officers to retirement in coming years. "At this point, we will not survive that exodus," he said. "NRPD has lost its status as a premier police department in Lorain County and we are now little more than a recruiting pool for other cities." In total, 67 percent of respondents to the survey said they had considered leaving the department within the last year, including seven of the 11 supervisors (sergeants and lieutenants) who answered. Holb did not place the blame solely on Freeman, but also on the fact that the city did not take the complaints of officers more seriously sooner. "I've been working with this group for about three years, and we've been telling (Corcoran) for all this time that there's these issues with how (Freeman) speaks to people and treats them and that officers are leaving because of it," Holb said. "And I think at some point he didn't believe us." Corcoran declined to comment, telling a reporter "in order to ensure we have a fair and impartial decision and allow our independent group to continue their work, we will not comment further at this time." In an email to members of the Police Department last month, Corcoran said he had been aware of complaints in the past and spoken with Freeman last year to try and address them. He said that the review had been initiated because "additional information has come to light." Holb said he believed the wake-up call for the city was when Freeman forcibly retired the K-9 Leo because the dog's handler, Jim Larkin, planned to transfer to North Olmsted. "I think it wasn't until (Freeman) took the K-9 off the road because he got his feelings hurt (that) somebody was leaving that the mayor thought 'Oh, there might really be a problem here,'" he said. Corcoran reinstated Leo to service, but the dog died May 25, according to Facebook posts from Larkin. Larkin is transferring to North Olmsted, and on Thursday night he went live on his Facebook page to explain why he was leaving North Ridgeville. He relayed a story from 2020 in which he accused Freeman of "screaming" and swearing at him for several minutes arriving work seven minutes late after he made a traffic stop on his way in. "That was the day I turned on Chief Freeman," he said. Larkin told several stories in which he alleged that Freeman regularly yells at officers for minor infractions, belittles and micromanages his lieutenants and uses performance reviews punitively, among several other accusations. "We have no say in that department," Larkin said. Though frustrated by the wait, Holb said more than anything he is happy that North Ridgeville is finally taking a deeper look into the department, led by a qualified third party. "I hope (the officers) are 100 percent honest, this is your chance to put it all out there and talk about what's happened," he said. "This is a story they've been wanting to tell for years now." Whatever the officers and dispatchers of the North Ridgeville Police Department say, and regardless of what the Stefanik, Iosue and Associates inquiry concludes, it will ultimately fall to the city and Corcoran to decide what to do next. "The leadership of North Ridgeville (has) serious decisions to make on how to address these issues," Zingale said in his letter to Council. "These choices may bring about a revitalization of the department, be expensive, or they may cement a hopeless mentality. Waiting, however, is no longer an option." The full workplace climate survey and letter from the NRPA can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/782n2ata. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.