Cleveland officers’ days off canceled ahead of busy downtown weekend
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cleveland police are taking extraordinary steps this weekend to keep crowds safe downtown, the FOX 8 I-Team learned.
First for the Women’s NCAA Final Four and then for the total solar eclipse, Cleveland police officers have found their days off canceled.
The city expects huge crowds to come in while depending on protection from a police department chronically short-staffed.
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So, good chance you’ll see officers handling a call downtown this weekend while working on a day off.
An internal notice sent out to officers last month shows days off canceled for some on Friday, others on Sunday and everyone on Monday.
The police department wants to make sure the city has enough police on the streets.
Last year, we saw fights and gunfire at the downtown Christmas tree lighting festival. We later spoke to families left shaken.
“We’re prepared,” Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd told the I-Team. “We’re planned. We’re ready for this.”
She said you might see detectives working in uniform or others normally seen in office jobs.
The big events come as the Cleveland Police Department is short-staffed by hundreds of officers.
“You know, this is a major event. So, anything that’s outside the normal operations is going to going to cause us to change the way we deploy,” the chief added. “With the solar eclipse coming up, it’s hard to say how many people are going to be in town for that.”
The I-Team also checked back on the usual number of officers assigned to patrol downtown. Last summer, we found that unit short by nearly a third. Now, the union tells us the downtown unit is still short about a third.
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“We are very short of staff,” Andy Gasiewski, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association, said.
He added that, with big crowds, officers know they first have to stay alert.
“Anything can happen at any given moment and it’s just being aware of your surroundings,” he said.
The chief points out, at the tree lighting, some troublemakers turned violent even with officers steps away.
Late last year, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department added downtown patrols with deputies. We’ve learned, for this weekend, the sheriff’s department will have those patrols out along with even more deputies.
Jennifer Ciaccia released a statement on behalf of the sheriff’s department:
“Safety is a top priority of Cuyahoga County.
“This weekend will be an exciting time in Downtown Cleveland as the city hosts the Women’s NCAA Final Four, followed directly by the total solar eclipse. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department will have deputies detailed for each of the events as well as the downtown safety patrol. In addition, the sheriff’s department continues to work with law enforcement partners at local, state, and federal levels, as well as city and county emergency management agencies, to plan for a safe event.”
“We want the officer visibility. We want people to come down and have a good time,” Police Chief Dorothy Todd said.
Learn more about safety and parking downtown here.
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