Board Members and Trustees
Rocco M. Pollutro
rmpollutro@aol.com
Trustee
BIO
Mr. Pollutro is the First Vice President for MBNA America. Prior to joining the bank, Mr. Pollutro was appointed Cleveland’s Chief of Police on April 14, 1996. In his thirty-three (33) years of service with the Division of Police, he has held a variety of positions with assignments on the SWAT Team, Bomb Unit, 3rd District Vice Unit, Detective Bureau, Organized Crime, Forensic Lab, and Internal Affairs.
His experience and training credentials have earned him the reputation as an expert in polygraph testing, explosives, terrorism, and organized crime, resulting in his assignment to many high profile investigations. He has testified as an expert witness on issues of polygraph testing, firearms identification, and explosive devices. Mr. Pollutro is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy and National Executive Institute. He has attended the ATF Hazardous Device School (Bomb Disposal Training), The National Training Center of Polygraph Science and studied criminal justice at Lakeland Community College in Mentor, Ohio.
Mr. Pollutro is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Cuyahoga County Chiefs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and a trustee of the Greater Cleveland Crime Clinic.
During his ascent to the Chief’s position he has held the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Commander and Deputy Chief. Mr. Pollutro’s Deputy Chief tenure included commanding both Special Operations (Intelligence unit, Narcotics, Bureau of Traffic, SWAT, Homicide, Sex Crimes, Auto Theft and Scientific Investigations Unit) and then later Field Operations (the basic patrol division, Community Policing, Communications Center). As Deputy Chief of Field Operations, he commanded a citywide operation encompassing all six police districts and consisting of over 1250 police officers. Since his appointment, Mr. Pollutro has systematically focused on enhancing police operations and procedures most notably through several innovative projects and technological advance. Mr. Pollutro’s primary initiative was to establish a recognizable uniformed police presence in every Cleveland neighborhood. Police districts were fully staffed to ensure a recognizable police presence throughout the city. To better proportion police calls for service, the Division of Police re-established the geographic patrol boundaries for each of the six districts. The “re-districting” program was the first to be done in fifty years since Director of Public Safety Eliot Ness established the boundaries some 50 years ago. This re-districting program has resulted in a dramatic reduction in police response time.
Mr. Pollutro has directed the Division’s quality of life initiatives by creating a series of community policing programs. Throughout his career, he has incorporated strong and lasting police-community relations even before Community Policing was a well-regarded concept. He is an active and participating proponent of Community Policing ideals. Me. Pollutro has been extremely open and creative in providing better community access to the police department and it’s officers. Mr. Pollutro remains committed to the citizens of Cleveland and has promoted an ever-continuing partnership with the members of the Division to enhance the quality of life throughout the city.
Fast Facts
