NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — In just a few weeks, deer culling season will begin in North Olmsted from January to March, but one resident doesn't want to see the North Olmsted police officers hunting deer on her property.
Lori Casciani has lived in her home for more than 20 years, and one of her favorite parts is the woods in the back.
“We used to get at least one or two deer a day in our yard, and I loved it. Now we're lucky it's once a month,” said Lori.
But what ruins her view is when she sees North Olmsted police culling deer.
“I see him right here. I can see him out of my kitchen window and that's how close the homes are. That's not safe,” said Lori.
Mike Petras lives around the block and he overlooks the same grove of trees and has seen the officers, too.
“They come in right over here and cut through the yard there in the back sometimes,” said Petras.
And it does not bother him at all.
“I am ambivalent towards it doesn’t matter me, I know there’s a lot of deer, traffic concerns, if they have to call them, they have to call them,” said Petras.
In North Olmsted, Police Chief Bob Wagner said they have been culling deer since 2016.
“That is just to manage the deer population in the City of North Olmsted to keep it healthy. So far, this year is since January 1, 2023. North Olmsted police have responded to ... approximately 106 calls for service regarding deer and that could be for a variety of things: car vs deer accidents, deer caught in fence, deer destroying people's shrubbery. Just too many deer in people's neighborhood," said Lori.
Their season runs every year from January to March, and before they begin, they post warning signs alerting people to the hunt.
“In the larger areas, mailers were sent out to the residents in those areas,” said Detective Jeff Richards
Some of the posts are in neighborhoods with wooded areas like Lori’s and Petra’s, and Wagner states that officers are required to know their surroundings and every safety risk before shooting.
“Our officers are pretty well trained. They've been doing it, they're all veteran officers. They're all police trained marksman. They know what property boundaries,” Wagner said.
Petras isn’t worried about safety; he has confidence in the police department’s ability to dispatch deer.
“I trust that they are going to do the right thing and they are going to be shooting with nothing behind it that’ll be dangerous,” Petras said.
While Lori still doesn't trust it and just wants the police department out of her back yard.
Chief Wagner adds that anytime an officer is on property that’s not city-owned, they have permission to be there. If it’s a property they don’t have permission to be on, he said to call the police department.
