CLEVELAND — Five detectives with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department have filed paperwork to leave the Detective Bureau, describing long hours and a hostile work environment.
The requests happened just days after they took on a high-profile, deadly police shooting in Cleveland as an outside agency.
News 5 Investigators got copies of the transfer requests this morning.
Two are from the lead investigators in the deadly shooting by an off-duty Cleveland police officer.
While that case isn’t mentioned, the emails to their supervisors and HR dropped six days after they got the case.
On May 20, surveillance video captured Officer Myron Priest shooting and killing 26-year-old Akili Hammond at Park Place apartments on East Boulevard.
Six days later, the five detectives requested transfers, including Keith Holmes and Matt Mysliwiec, the lead detectives investigating the police shooting by an outside agency.
The three other detectives are Jamie Moran, Kurt Stamm and Kasey Loudermilk.
Loudermilk made headlines last year after he was behind the wheel in two deadly chases just five months apart.
He’s new to the bureau after being on the controversial Downtown Safety Patrol.
In his email, Loudermilk said he’s been required to work shifts over 16 hours, and ongoing management issues led to unnecessary job-related stress.
Holmes called the bureau a hostile work environment with increasing conflict among detectives impacting communication, morale and focus.
Mysliwiec said he asked for additional investigative training, but didn’t get approved.
His email also said that as staffing levels dropped, operational demands increased, including expanded on-call responsibilities and overtime.
Mysliwiec said victims and their families deserve focused attention and adequate resources.
Stamm pointed to recent supervisor changes creating a stressful environment that is dangerous for the work they’re exposed to, calling the pressure and rushed mentality while working major cases irresponsible.
Moran has worked in the bureau for 20 years but said that, with recent changes, he can’t fully accommodate the requests of current supervisors.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Harold Pretel wouldn't talk with News 5 Investigators about this.
Since 2019, Cleveland police and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department have had an agreement where the sheriff does the criminal investigation in any deadly shooting by Cleveland police.
Last week, Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd publicly expressed concern about the shooting by one of her officers.
Nearly two weeks later, no arrests have been made in the case.
Chief Todd declined to comment on an outside agency’s operations.
The county says there are 16 detectives in the bureau, and as of today, the five detectives who submitted transfer requests are still part of the bureau.
Update:
News 5 Investigators spoke with Sheriff Pretel about detectives requesting transfers and what's being done about it.
Pretel says he and the command staff met with the entire bureau, where they told detectives they support and value their work, and how employees interact and what their experiences are.
He says they'll look into the concerns and make appropriate corrections.
As for the high-profile Cleveland off-duty officer shooting, Pretel says there have been no arrests at this time because the facts don't lead there, and investigators will see that case through.
News 5 Investigators asked Pretel if the public can trust the investigations coming out of the Detective Bureau.
"One thousand percent, we have a variety of checks and balances, investigators are obviously the ones doing the work. Not only do we have sergeants, lieutenants, and majors in that chain of command, but anyone from the major, captain, lieutenant, or sergeant who is not only going to supervise but also assist with the investigation," Pretel said.
