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Concerns growing over Cleveland's planning, response to weekend protests

Two CLE councilman voice concerns
Euclid Damage
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CLEVELAND — There are growing concerns over both the planning and response by Cleveland's mayor and police chief over the city's handling over protests that grew violence over the weekend.

Vandalism along Euclid Avenue prompted one store owner to question where police were and the councilman representing downtown Cleveland said he "was disappointed" in the lack of communication between the city and his office.

Yours Truly Window on Euclid
Windows smashed out on Euclid Avenue

"When you have an entire street--Euclid Avenue and East 4th--that have been really smashed up pretty bad--clearly something happened or didn't happen that was supposed to when it comes to how we organized our law enforcement response that day," said Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack.

Kerry McCormack
Kerry McCormack, Cleveland City Council

In addition, Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones said he would have met with protest organizers from Cleveland prior to the weekend to make clear that violence would not be tolerated.

Basheer Jones
Cleveland City councilman Basheer Jones

"I believe that if we are going to move forward and be successful as a city we need to be more proactive and we have to stop being reactive," said Jones, who also declined to definitely address whether both the mayor and police chief could have had a greater presence over the weekend.

"Sometimes--there's an answer in the question," said Jones, " I'll just leave it at that."

Calvin Williams, Frank Jackson

Meanwhile, the mayor and police chief have not addressed their handling of the protest since Sunday night when they hosted a Facebook Teleconference.