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CLEVELAND (WJW) – The head of the supervisors union for Cleveland police tells the FOX 8 I-Team that a commander under internal investigation has been demoted.

Commander Michael Butler had been assigned to oversee the police department’s third district, which includes downtown.

“The Safety Director issued his decision and did demote Commander Butler to the rank of Lieutenant,” FOP President Jim O’Malley told the I-Team. “The FOP Lodge 8 is reviewing our options at this time. We do not know his new assignment.”

The I-Team reached to Commander Butler for a response. He released the following statement:

“His decision is what it is. From the day I put my badge on for the first time until now, my rank has changed over my 30 years but the one thing that has remained the same is my commitment to this community. Right now, I’m just focusing on serving the residents of the city of Cleveland.”

Weeks ago, the I-Team revealed an investigation into Commander Butler centering around his ties to private security companies. The internal charges suggested he tried to cheat on taxes and had a conflict of interest in a former position with the police department.

The investigation dates back to 2017, but Butler just recently had a disciplinary hearing.

Records released to the I-Team also showed the FBI Public Corruption Task Force reviewed the internal investigation.

But, the FBI Task Force review resulted in no criminal charges.

Records also showed that the city prosecutor ruled “no papers issued,” or no charges, in March.

In September, we called Commander Butler to ask what he had to say about the allegations.

“Just that. They are allegations. I’m looking forward to talking to the safety director and giving him the truth about these allegations,” he said. ‘They are going to be, I believe, unfounded.”

As for why this is just coming to light now, the commander told us the city had been doing interviews and looking into this for quite some time.

While the union confirmed the commander’s demotion, when we checked on the matter with city hall late Friday afternoon, the mayor’s office wrote back, “We haven’t received any update as of yet. Will let you know.”

Last year, a former Cleveland police officer plead guilty to federal tax charges tied to one of the security companies mentioned in this matter.