CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd said that the police officer driving Mayor Justin Bibb during a Thursday morning crash activated his lights outside of the city's emergency response driving policy.
News 5 spoke with Chief Todd on Friday afternoon.
Todd, who was working Thursday, personally responded to the scene of the accident.
She said that when she later reviewed the video, she could not find a cause for why the driver should have activated his overhead lights.
"The officer will have the opportunity to explain himself," she said.
News 5's Jonathan Walsh asked Todd what penalties the driver might face.
Todd would not confirm the name of the mayor's driver, but two sources close to Cleveland city operations told us it is Officer Demetrius Woods, a 22-year Cleveland Police veteran.
Todd said this incident is being "treated like any other investigation" and said there will be no "special treatment."
The two-vehicle crash happened at the intersection of East 12th Street and Superior Avenue after the mayor's vehicle turned on its lights and drove through an intersection during a red light.
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Bibb was inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, sustained at least one cut and was taken to the hospital by EMS as a "precaution."
Two eyewitnesses told News 5 that the mayor's vehicle threw on its emergency lights at the last minute and ran the intersection when the other vehicle had the green.
A video from a surveillance camera shows that moment.
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According to Todd, the lights on the mayor's vehicle were activated "outside of the department's emergency response driving policy."
The department is investigating the incident, and the officer could face punishment.
Read Todd's statement in full:
On Thursday, June 13 at approximately 8:55 a.m., a Division of Police vehicle operated by our member, with Mayor Justin Bibb as passenger, was involved in a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of E.12th and Superior.
At the time, the mayor’s driver was engaged in emergency response driving. Preliminary information indicates that the lights were activated outside of the emergency response driving policy.
The Division of Police is currently investigating the incident and is conducting an internal review of potential policy violations in accordance with our General Police Orders. Discipline related to violations of our Emergency Response Driving Policy range from verbal warning to a 3-day suspension.
