Cleveland Police Officer Ismail Quran’s Antisemitic Tweets Net Disapproval but No Discipline
The officer has been placed on administrative leave but remarks were made before he was hired.
Cleveland, Ohio police officer Ismail Quran tweeted several antisemitic remarks that included praise of Hitler and disdain for Israel and for Zionism. Various Jewish groups have asked him for a full apology and requested the Cleveland PD to rescind his 2019 Officer of the Year Award and a 2021 distinguished service medal. An internal review, however, established that he cannot be disciplined for statements made before the beginning of his tenure. The mayor and police chief said in a joint statement, “We are frustrated and disappointed that no charges can be filed against Officer Ismail Quran, despite extensive internal investigations by the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP), the city prosecutor and the law department.”
Canary Mission, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, and StopAntisemitism in a statement welcomed the mayor’s remarks but expressed disappointment in the lack of action from the city and from the department. They also wondered whether an officer’s expression of bigotry against a different group would also have been met with the same response—verbal disapproval but no disciplinary action.