Get Pulled Over by Cleveland Police? You Might Get a Recruitment Card to Join the Force Along With Your Ticket

For the past two years, Cleveland Police have handed out business cards advertising interaction surveys and job applications—even to those getting a ticket. Credit: Submitted Photo

For the past two years, Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration has worked hard to boost the number of active Cleveland police officers as part of its Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone initiative.

In August 2023, Bibb debuted City Hall’s multi-pronged effort to replenish the understaffed ranks —about 300 officers short of the recommended staffing—that included kiosk ads around the city, commercials on TV20 and local airwaves, posters around Tower City Hall, myriad social media campaigns, and hiring events.

Another low-tech effort is apparently involved: Handing out recruitment cards to people pulled over for traffic violations in the city.

That’s what happened to one Northeast Ohio man last week after he was stopped for rolling a stop sign. The cop handed over a ticket, and along with it, a card. On one side, a QR code for a survey soliciting feedback on the interaction with the cop. On the other, text that read “Be A Guardian For Your City” and “Join Our Team” with a phone number and url linking to public safety careers.

“It took me a second to register what he handed to me,” the man told Scene. “But it made my blood boil. Even more so than just getting a traffic ticket. I actually said ‘What the fuck?’ out loud to myself.”

“It felt like getting mugged, then having the mugger ask me if I wanted to hang out later,” he added. “I would have thrown it on the ground if I didn’t hate littering, and if I weren’t convinced he would give me another ticket.”

“This is not just a ‘recruitment card’ as you suggested,” Sgt. Freddy Diaz, a spokesperson for CPD, told Scene in an email. These cards have been handed out, he said, for the past two years.

“These are customer service cards that officers hand out to individuals during various community interactions,” Diaz said, “where they can scan the QR code to fill out a survey to provide feedback on said interactions.”

Sharena Zayed, a member of the newly-refreshed Cleveland Community Police Commission of 13, told Scene she feels the push to fill the graduate gap outweighs the method in which police are recruited.

“It’s alarming, yes. But I think it just speaks to the need Cleveland has for officers,” Zayed said. “I mean, being pulled over doesn’t mean you’re not qualified for getting a job.”

As for the recipient:

“I’m not unfamiliar with the gross history of this particular police department, having seen some of that grossness firsthand, so it’s particularly grating to have this happen,” they told Scene. “However, it gave me some satisfaction that if they’re looking in this particular barrel, that they’re probably scraping the bottom of several others.”

Cleveland officers have been fleeing to suburban departments since the pandemic, in search of higher pay and less of the troubles that come with working in the city. Part of Bibb’s solution was salary-driven: he would shift city funds to give patrol officers an 11-percent pay increase over a three-year span. New officers, a flyer for a hiring event in June announced, could make up to $86,918 a year. (With a $5,000 sign-on bonus and three months of guaranteed parental leave.)

A pay hike that may actually be working. CPD saw an average of 57 new recruits added to Cleveland’s force from 2020 to 2023. Come 2024, the first full year of RISE raises, it saw 134 new recruits added to the ranks, a 135-percent increase.

And in early June, the city’s 156th Academy class graduated 91 new recruits, which could signify that this year outpaces 2024’s numbers.

All which begins with getting the word out. Even if that comes after handing a driver a $180 traffic ticket.