Two Cleveland Cops Earn Over $250K in Overtime

Dozens of officers double their salaries as police overtime hits $27 million

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Records show that two Cleveland patrol officers tripled their salaries in 2025 by working enough overtime to earn more than $250,000 each. In total, 44 police employees at least doubled their salaries through overtime, including 33 patrol officers who earned between $170,000 and $265,000 by year's end. The Cleveland Division of Police logged $27 million in overtime in 2025, which city officials attribute in part to a staffing shortage that has left the department with more than 100 vacancies among its uniformed officers.

Why it matters

The high overtime costs and officers earning exorbitant salaries through overtime work raises concerns about police department staffing, budgeting, and oversight. It also highlights the challenges Cleveland faces in maintaining an adequate police force to serve residents, with the department currently operating with over 100 officer vacancies.

The details

Records show that 44 members of the Cleveland Division of Police at least doubled their salaries through overtime in 2025. This included 33 patrol officers who earned anywhere from $170,000 to $265,000 by working enough extra hours. The department also had seven supervisors, two dispatchers and two data analysts who doubled their salaries via overtime. In total, 155 police employees made $50,000 or more in overtime pay, while 779 made more than $10,000 in overtime.

  • In 2025, the Cleveland Division of Police logged $27 million in overtime.
  • The department's officer count peaked at 1,550 in 2019 and declined to 1,142 by 2024.

The players

Cleveland Division of Police

The police department for the city of Cleveland, Ohio, which has faced staffing shortages and high overtime costs.

Justin Bibb

The mayor of Cleveland who has set a goal of reaching the department's authorized staffing level of 1,350 officers, but acknowledged it will be a challenge.

Dorothy Todd

The police chief of the Cleveland Division of Police, who cited factors like street takeovers, vehicle break-ins, and special events as contributing to the high overtime costs.

Mike Polensek

A Cleveland city councilman who chairs the public safety committee and has long pressed the city to hire more officers to reduce overtime and better serve residents.

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What they’re saying

“Where's the police? Why don't we have traffic enforcement? Why don't we see them patrolling our neighborhood? That's what we hear at neighborhood meetings.”

— Mike Polensek, City Councilman (cleveland.com)

“We took preventative measures to stop those, and that included a lot of overtime.”

— Dorothy Todd, Police Chief (cleveland.com)

What’s next

Mayor Bibb has set a goal of reaching the department's authorized staffing level of 1,350 officers by 2026, but has acknowledged it will be a challenge. The city is now budgeting for $22 million in police overtime for 2026.

The takeaway

The high police overtime costs and individual officers earning exorbitant salaries through overtime work in Cleveland highlights the need for better staffing, budgeting, and oversight of the police department. It also underscores the challenges the city faces in maintaining an adequate police force to serve residents effectively.