By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
- The Cleveland Division of Police recorded about $27 million in overtime costs in 2025 as staffing levels remained below authorized benchmarks.
- Department records show 44 employees at least doubled their annual salaries through overtime, including patrol officers, supervisors and civilian staff.
- Two patrol officers earned more than $250,000 each after collecting over $170,000 in overtime pay on top of base salaries.
- The department is authorized for 1,350 officers but currently employs about 1,240, leaving more than 100 vacancies.
- City officials say staffing shortages, special events and proactive deployments contributed to the high overtime spending.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Division of Police spent approximately $27 million on overtime in 2025 as the department continues to operate below its authorized staffing levels.
City records obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer show that 44 police employees — including patrol officers, supervisors and civilian staff — at least doubled their annual salaries by working overtime hours. Two patrol officers earned more than $250,000 each last year after collecting $176,000 and $171,000 respectively in overtime on top of base salaries of about $86,918.
Overall, 155 employees in the department earned $50,000 or more in overtime pay in 2025, while 779 personnel recorded more than $10,000 in overtime earnings. Several patrol officers ranked among the city’s highest-paid employees for the year due to the additional hours worked.
Police Chief Dorothy Todd said the department is authorized to employ 1,350 officers but currently has about 1,240 sworn personnel, leaving more than 100 vacancies. Cleveland’s staffing levels peaked at roughly 1,550 officers in 2019 before declining in recent years.
City officials said overtime costs have been driven by both staffing shortages and operational demands, including responses to street takeovers, vehicle break-in trends and large public events such as professional football games, parades and protests. Officers are also assigned overtime for security at locations including Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and on federal task force operations.
Mayor Justin Bibb has said the city aims to reach the authorized staffing level of 1,350 officers, though officials acknowledge recruiting and retaining personnel remains a challenge. The city has increased police pay, shortened the hiring timeline and introduced recruitment incentives to attract new officers.