Cleveland leaders respond to the mass shooting in Orlando, and will now explore higher security requirements for crowded venues and events as part of the permit process.
The increased requirements will be proposed by Cleveland Councilman Jeff Johnson in response to the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub that claimed 50 lives over the weekend.
Johnson told newsnet5.com he'll approach the other Cleveland Council members and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to require a specific level of security at venues and events based on attendance.
The security requirements would be spelled out in city permits or applications taken out by the venue or event coordinators.
"When I first read about how it went down in Orlando, I had a chill because you know that at any given there could be a loan wolf planning one here in Cleveland," said Johnson.
"We need to upgrade our permit process. They need to come in with not only how many officers are you going to have, but what is your process. How do we prevent people from bringing guns into a situation."
Johnson said he will call for bag searches and security scans at events and events that exceed 300 in attendance, making it harder to bring weapons into these locations.
Cleveland block club leader Henry Senyak told newsnet5.com that too often venues exceed their occupancy permit levels, making it harder for patrons to escape a fire, shooting or emergency.
Senyak believes occupancy enforcement needs to be improved and venue owners must take greater security measures.
"On important nighs like when there is a Cavs game, you're going to have hundreds of people jamming these places, they could be triple their occupancy," said Senyak.
"Owners need to be updated, they have to have prints on hand, they have to know how to get out. They have to train their employees, that's not happening in Cleveland, we need it happen "
Johnson said the increased security measures could be put into place without legislation if all council members and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson support the changes.
If that doesn't happen, Johnson said he will create legislation for passage.
