EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — The City of East Cleveland got a bit of attention recently after its mayor asked for policing help from the Ohio National Guard. However, there’s been clarification from the governor’s office that what’s really happening is the Ohio State Highway Patrol will step in to assist.
“People flying, don’t stop at the light…road rage, stupid stuff,” said Lula Gardner. She has lived in East Cleveland for the past four years. She welcomes the idea of bringing in the Ohio State Highway Patrol to help the police department. “If you call the police, East Cleveland police, it takes two hours, three hours to come, and it don’t make no sense,” said Gardner.
It’s not the first time something like this has happened in East Cleveland. In March of 2023, News 5 told you about troopers being called in to patrol the city and help with traffic enforcement.
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There is already traffic camera enforcement on city streets but residents like Ryan Justin told us more help is desperately needed.
“Additional law enforcement would definitely be a plus,” said Justin. “There’s a lot of people here that are good people. They’ve been here a long time. It’s not fair to them.”
We asked the East Cleveland mayor for information. We didn’t hear back. We asked the law director, and she referred us back to the mayor’s office.
Here’s part of the problem. In the last two years alone, 19 East Cleveland Police Officers have been indicted on criminal charges. Some were even fired. So, the thought is to get some help to fill in the gaps.
In fact, in the mayor’s letter to the governor, dated June 28 of this year, he said the department “has been reduced by more than 50%,” and there are issues with “safe and timely service,” which is “of grave concern.”
Pat Blochowiak is the vice president of East Cleveland City Council.
She told us she didn’t know about the mayor’s letter. She said if the troopers just help again with traffic, that’s fine, but she would like to see more than that.
“What we need is somebody who’s going to investigate crimes and help prevent future crimes,” said Blochowiak.
State patrol told us they will be sitting down with East Cleveland leaders on Monday, July 15, to hammer out details on the help they will provide.
It’s not a moment too soon, said Gardner, who has to maneuver around the city in a wheelchair. “It’s a good idea to get some help where people can be safe and feel safe,” she said. “You can’t even walk up and down the street nowadays.”
The state patrol told us there’s no timeframe on how many days it will assist East Cleveland. They will evaluate that as they go through the process.
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