CLEVELAND, Ohio --

Over his 32 years on the streets, he's wrecked cars, brawled in bars and been accused of roughing up citizens without cause.

He's also faced criminal charges of aggravated robbery, intoxication and felonious assault.

Though he's never been convicted of a crime, more than 1,500 pages of documents obtained by The Plain Dealer detail a career of controversy, including nearly three dozen investigations into his behavior. Privately, colleagues say few, if any, officers have a record so blemished.

More recently, Barrow was accused of attacking a state prison guard during a 2009 confrontation that is the basis of a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed this summer. Months after the standoff, vice detectives under his command rented cars with driver's licenses from a police lost-and-found bin -- a practice one police investigator later said amounted to identity fraud.

Barrow has not only has kept his job in a city where leaders preach the importance of employing squeaky-clean cops. He also has risen through the ranks and made a powerful fan out of the department's current chief, Michael McGrath.

"Your consistent display of professionalism and years of uncompromised dedication to the Cleveland Division of Police will only serve to make you an asset to the department," McGrath wrote in a November 2005 letter to Barrow, who had just been promoted to lieutenant.

The promotion came less than nine months after Shaker Heights police used force to detain Barrow in what officers there described as a drunken domestic dispute. Despite the nature of those and other accusations levied against him, Barrow today leads the 3rd District vice squad, a team responsible for protecting citizens from alcohol- and drug-related crimes.

Barrow, in a brief telephone interview, said he does not have a drinking problem, though he declined to discuss the Shaker Heights case or other incidents in his past.

"If you look at my file, I hope you look at it deep," he said. "I do things the right way."

The file, in addition to its many accusations, contains several perfect attendance certificates, commendations and positive performance reviews. And when contacted by The Plain Dealer, a city councilman and community leader both offered glowing testimonials.

Bob Render, an activist in the Buckeye neighborhood, praised Barrow for quickly responding to his complaints about young drug dealers.

"He reminds me of RoboCop," said Render, drawing a comparison with the science-fiction movie hero. "He isn't going to coddle these kids. I want a few more Jerome Barrows out on the streets."

The Plain Dealer's review of Barrow's career comes amid brutality complaints that have raised accountability questions within the police chain of command. The newspaper has found that McGrath and his deputies endorse the use of nondeadly force in nearly all the cases they examine -- a success rate that alarmed some law-enforcement experts.

Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor emeritus at University of Nebraska at Omaha, believes that Barrow's advancement is another sign of a troubled police department.

"People with those records get promoted and communicate those values to others under their supervision," said Walker, who specializes in police accountability. "Very unfortunately, it's probably the tip of the iceberg in terms of indicating a serious accountability problem."

McGrath, in a recent interview, declined to address specific cases. But the chief recalled working with Barrow in the 4th District, where McGrath previously was commander.

"I know that when he worked for me, he did a good job and was respected in the community," said McGrath, chief since March 2005. "He was meticulous in his work ethic."

Jerome Barrow: The early years

Barrow, whose first street assignment after passing the police academy was as a 2nd District patrol officer, was in off-duty trouble soon after his first year on the beat.

In April 1981, Barrow and another officer, Andre Hobson, were indicted on felonious assault and aggravated robbery charges stemming from a bar fight. A man claimed the brawl erupted when several women declined Hobson's invitation to dance, according to Plain Dealer coverage of the case. The man said that after he confronted Hobson, Hobson and Barrow beat him and stole his cash and gun.

(View court documents from the 1981 case: PDF)

Patrick D'Angelo, a police union lawyer who represented Barrow and Hobson, contended that the man nearly fired the gun and that his clients acted as any officer would when faced with an armed and dangerous man. A judge acquitted Barrow and Hobson of the charges.

While awaiting the bench trial, Barrow was charged with intoxication after an East Cleveland car accident in which he and Hobson were passengers. A judge later dismissed the charge.

In 1987, Barrow was suspended for 30 days without pay after he was found in violation of several administrative charges. City records do not specify the nature of his offenses.

And in 1988, Barrow and his partner, Patrolman Terrance Kennedy, were accused of robbing two men they had pulled over on separate traffic stops within hours. A jury acquitted both officers of aggravated robbery and felonious assault.



(View court documents from the 1988 case: PDF)

The 1980s also brought at least 18 citizen complaints against Barrow. Many alleged physical abuse, malfeasance or harassment, records show. Most were dismissed internally.

One 1982 complaint came from a shopper at the West Side Market who said Barrow dragged her from her illegally parked car, handcuffed her and threw her into the back of a police cruiser. Barrow maintained then that the woman was loud, abusive and uttered racial slurs about him and Kennedy after he issued her two citations for parking at a bus stop and in a dangerous area.

But merchants who witnessed the arrest said Barrow and his partner went overboard.

"They acted like they were in love with authority -- like Gestapo, like Hitler," one market stand operator told The Plain Dealer at the time.

Police found insufficient evidence to support the woman's claim, records show.

In his recent interview, Barrow, who is black, attributed many of his early problems to race. He said he was one of a few minority police officers on the 2nd District streets in the 1980s. The district at the time encompassed mostly white neighborhoods on the near West Side.

D'Angelo, the union lawyer, said Barrow has long been a polarizing figure in the department. When he represented Barrow and Hobson in the 1981 assault and aggravated robbery case, D'Angelo suggested that the officers were being framed because they were unpopular.

"If you look at Barrow's profile, here's a guy, African-American, college graduate, has risen through the ranks -- I mean, there's a good life story to be told there," D'Angelo said in a recent interview. "But I have heard it before. There are people who don't like him. It could be jealousy. There could be a racial component. He might have a personality they don't take kindly to.

"I've joked about it with him a couple times and said: 'JB, man, what is it with you?' He just shrugs his shoulders. I like the guy. I can't understand some of the negative things."

Crashes and clashes mar '90s record

After spending much of the 1980s defending himself against a hail of citizen complaints, Barrow began the next decade with a streak of car accidents.

Between May 1990 and January 1991, Barrow wrecked his cruiser four times.

In the first accident, Barrow was following an ambulance when he went left of center and struck the driver's side of a turning car. The driver complained of neck pains and later sued the city and Barrow. Court records show a settlement, but city officials were unable to confirm the cost.

The three other accidents were single-car crashes. A traffic-safety panel determined all four were preventable, and at an August 1991 disciplinary hearing, then-Chief Edward Kovacic ordered Barrow to attend a driving class.

"Officer Barrow is an aggressive police officer, but that doesn't give him authority to be a careless police officer," Kovacic said at the meeting.

Kovacic agreed to withhold a four-day suspension if Barrow kept a pristine driving record over the next two years. Barrow's personnel file shows no additional wrecks in that period, so it is likely the suspension never took effect.

In 1993, Barrow was promoted to sergeant and was appointed as a special deputy clerk at Cleveland Municipal Court, which collects fines for the city's Parking Violations Bureau. That same year, he received two parking tickets that would come back to haunt him.

City officials accused Barrow of improperly voiding both tickets. At a hearing in 1995, then-Acting Chief Bill Denihan found that Barrow had one of the tickets improperly voided. He suspended Barrow for two days without pay but dropped one day when Barrow paid the fine.

Also in 1995, Barrow was removed from his new post with the 4th District vice squad because he was not keeping overtime costs under control, records show. Barrow then vented his frustrations and suggested that racism was at play in a letter he wrote to City Council members.

In the letter, which along with his overtime failures earned him a written warning, Barrow said that his house was targeted in an arson attempt two days before his demotion.

"In my mind [the demotion] sends a message to the perpetrators: Look what we accomplished, this is the way to counter those who would stamp out drugs!" he wrote. ". . . This is not a letter dealing with issues of race per se. But I wonder what the response of the Commander would be if I were not a minority officer and there was an arson attempt on my home."

Barrow eventually worked his way back into favor and a vice squad assignment.

McGrath was announced as the new commander of the 4th District in 1997. Barrow's next few years were relatively tranquil, records show.

But while the future chief recalled him as meticulous, Barrow caught flak for not following policy when supervising a use of nondeadly force in 2004. Barrow did not get medical attention for an injured suspect and failed to ensure a detective promptly turned in a required form.

Nine days after police administrators recommended internal charges, which months later resulted in a written warning, Shaker Heights police responded to a call from Barrow's suburban home. The caller said Barrow was holding a woman hostage at gunpoint.

Barrow to Shaker Heights police: 'Go ahead and shoot me'

Read and search documents used in writing this article:

Plain Dealer stories about Barrow from the 1980s

2009 Cleveland police Internal Affairs investigation into Barrow,

Shortly after midnight Feb. 23, 2005, Barrow returned home to find his fiancee moving out with the help of family members.

An argument ensued, and Barrow shoved his fiancee's goddaughter out the front door, according to the goddaughter's statement to police. The woman added that Barrow reached for his waistband, where she knew he often kept his handgun.

The woman feared her godmother was being held against her will, a police report stated.

Armed with handguns and at least one M-4 assault rifle, Shaker officers cautiously approached and ordered Barrow outside.

According to police reports, Barrow quickly pulled rank.

"I am a sergeant with the Cleveland police," he shouted as he came onto the porch.

Barrow then refused orders to surrender peacefully and dared officers to fire at him, reports state.

"You come here if you want me," he said. "Go ahead and shoot me."

Barrow disobeyed commands to get on the ground. Police gained control and handcuffed him only after an officer kicked Barrow in the chest, reports state.

"You all don't even know what the f - - - you all are doing," Barrow said after being patted down for weapons and escorted to a cruiser.

No gun was found on him, though he acknowledged he had weapons in the house.

Officers said they believed Barrow had been drinking. One officer, citing experience in training others for drunken-driving stops, said Barrow appeared extremely intoxicated.

"His eyes were glossy," the officer wrote in his report. "His eyes were a tan cream color in which I have only seen on individuals that told me they were alcoholics."

Barrow confirmed he had been drinking. "Yes I had a couple. But I drink responsibly."

Police reports indicate Barrow was never under arrest. His fiancee told officers that she would stay at the home and not press charges because she did not want his career ruined.

Officers called Shaker Heights Prosecutor C. Randolph Keller, who was familiar with Barrow and volunteered to call one of Barrow's close friends to pick him up from the police station. The friend turned out to be Terrance Kennedy, Barrow's former beat partner.

Keller also declined to pursue criminal charges. In a recent interview, he cited the fact that the fiancee and her goddaughter were reluctant to prosecute. Keller also noted that no weapons were found on Barrow and that no witnesses reported seeing him draw a gun.

As for the call to Kennedy, Keller denied extending a special favor, though he said he knew both police officers from his days as an assistant city prosecutor in Cleveland. Keller also confirmed that he spoke to Barrow on the phone while Barrow was in the back of a police car.

"I wouldn't say it's typical or atypical," Keller said when asked if he typically speaks with suspects while they are being detained by police.

At a hearing before Cleveland's safety director, held a month after Barrow was promoted to lieutenant, administrative misconduct charges related to the Shaker case were deemed to be unfounded.

Since his elevation, Barrow has been accused of violating department rules at least eight times, records show. In six of those instances, including the questionable car-rental case, he received a nondisciplinary letter of reinstruction. In another, after Barrow granted an unauthorized ride-along to a television news photographer, McGrath issued a written reprimand.

And when an Internal Affairs investigator recommended noncriminal administrative charges for Barrow's unprofessionalism during the prison standoff, McGrath dismissed the matter.

Guidelines for discipline are spelled out in collective-bargaining agreements that police unions have with the city, a reality that makes it tough to fire even habitual rule-breakers.

But Walker, the criminal justice expert, wonders why someone with Barrow's checkered background remains a lieutenant in charge of a vice unit -- a visible, high-ranking post.

"You might not actually be able to terminate someone," Walker said. "But you can put a person in an off-the-street job. Police departments have traditionally had their Siberias, like the property room, where you don't come into contact with the public. It sends a message."

Barrow's current commander, Calvin Williams, declined to comment.

One city councilman, Zack Reed of Ward 2, gave Barrow high marks.

"I think he's fantastic," said Reed, who added that Barrow has a reputation for addressing nuisance bars. "If we had more guys like him, we would be in great shape."

Reed, a past chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, asserted that "all vice guys" have controversial backgrounds.

Barrow, in his brief telephone remarks, questioned why his career was being scrutinized.

"I've never once taken anyone's life on this job," Barrow said. "Just keep that in mind. Someone obviously wants to push my name into the limelight, but that's par for the course."

Plain Dealer news researcher Jo Ellen Corrigan contributed to this story.

Cleveland police Lt. Jerome Barrow's 32 years on the streets: Timeline

Jerome Barrow on Dipity.