CLEVELAND — A mass shooting in Cleveland's Warehouse District has drawn attention to ongoing staffing concerns within the Cleveland Division of Police.
READ MORE: 9 shot on W. 6th Street after gunman opens fire
Nine people were taken to the hospital after a shooting that took place early Sunday morning at West 6th Street and Johnson Court in the Warehouse District, according to police.
Dangerously understaffed
A Cleveland police spokesperson said there are currently 1,236 patrol officers and administrators on the department's staff, which is 229 less than in the city's 2022 budget.
Last year, the department was budgeted for 1,465 officers.
Prior to 2022, the city budgeted for more than 1,600 officers.
News 5 investigators previously found 32% of the force left between 2020 and 2022.
Two-hundred officers left the force last year, which was more than the department lost in 2021 (187), and 2020 (133).
RELATED: Cleveland cuts 142 police positions
"Of course, we want more officers. There's no question about it," said Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond during a news conference about the mass shooting Sunday.
However, Drummond said the Warehouse District specialty unit was properly staffed when a gunman opened fire.
"Last night was not a matter of having enough officers," Drummond said.
Henry Hilow, attorney for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, which represents the city's police officers, disagreed with Drummond's assessment.
"We respond with less and expect more," Hilow said. "When you respond with less, you get less."
"They're overworked. They're understaffed. If you have that problem, you know what the problem is; it's your responsibility to correct it," Hilow said.
Dwindling recruits
Hilow said the department is also failing to recruit enough new officers.
There are currently two Cleveland police classes. One class has 12 cadets. The other has only nine cadets.
"They should be putting all of their efforts towards recruitment," Hilow said.
During the news conference Sunday, Cleveland Justin Bibb said he will make an announcement about recruitment and retention in the coming days.
"We have urgency to invest in our police, to make sure we have enough cops to keep our community safe and secure," Bibb said. "We're going to continue to make additional investments in police and law enforcement and be as aggressive as we can to cut down on gang activity, cut down on drug activity, and get as many guns as we can off our street."
However, when a reporter pressed him about how he would accomplish those goals in light of staffing shortages in the city's specialty police units, Bibb refused to respond.
"Next question," he said. "Next question."
