PHOTO BY BRUCE CHECEFSKY

Tuesday, March 12, 2024; The Second District Policing Committee Meeting, Bridge CLE, 3389 Fulton Road: Johnny Hamm, Captain of Patrol, Second District Department of Safety, City of Cleveland, shares policing data with residents in attendance at the meeting. 

by Bruce Checefsky

                  (Plain Press April 2024) Johnny Hamm, Captain of Patrol, Second District Department of Public Safety, City of Cleveland, told residents of Ward 14 during a meeting at Bridge CLE that the crime rate in their neighborhood had significantly decreased in recent months.

     Hamm said city-wide homicides are down 48.28% from 2023, and in the Second District, they were down 77.78%. He reminded residents that even though the number is significant, in 2023, there were multiple fatalities—four murders in one incident—which is uncommon in the city; homicides are down 50% compared to 2022.

     Martin Muniz, 41, was charged with aggravated murder when he fatally shot four people and injured an 8-year-old girl at a home in Brooklyn Center in January 2023. The victims were all family members. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

     Muniz also admitted to killing Jaime Molina, 45, in North Camden in October of 2013.

     “We have only a slight increase in rape, up by 5% across the city, followed by burglary at 1.63%,” Hamm said, noting that the local media, including newspaper and television reporting, is responsible for painting a picture of the high crime rate in the city, adding that the crime is not as bad as it looks in the media.

     “We are doing very good,” he said.

     Cleveland residents continue to experience a higher homicide rate compared to the national average, according to the Cleveland Department of Public Health, with homicides more likely to impact residents who are black and between 18 and 44 years of age. Firearms contributed to the majority of deaths, followed by stabbing, and suffocation.

     The 2023 City of Cleveland Annual Report, Department of Public Safety, showed the use of force incidents, where a necessary course of action for an officer is to restore safety in a community when other practices are ineffective, increased city-wide from 195 to 279 incidents between 2021 and 2023, or by almost 70%. District 2 had the second-largest increase.

     “You should never be afraid to call the police,” said Hamm. “If it is something that causes you concern, call us. Let us look at the situation and decide how fast we need to get there. You might not realize it, but that suspicious person that just cut through your driveway is wanted for a homicide two streets over.”

     One of the residents at the meeting complained about calling police dispatch and never getting a response. Hamm explained that when a person calls 911 or 216-621-1234, the non-emergency number, the same operator answers both calls. Another resident, Jessie, said they can never get a response from the non-emergency number.

     “I will address that,” Hamm told him. “Get in touch with me when that happens.”

     Marie Williams, who lives on Natchez Ave., between State Road and W. 20th Street, said her neighbors repeatedly park on their front lawn, with two cars blocking the sidewalk and in the grass.

     As a homeowner, Williams is worried the value of her property will decrease, and should she ever decide to sell her home, she will never realize her full financial potential. The Sidewalk and Setback ordinance states, ‘No person shall stand or park a vehicle between the sidewalk and setback line in a residential area except upon a driveway.’

     Williams was aware of the law, she said, and when she called the non-emergency number, she was told by the operator on the other end of the phone that since the property belonged to them, they could park anywhere they wanted to.

     “Officer Martinez, who answered the call, told me that,” Williams explained. “I was writing it down because I was getting ready to call my councilperson. She talked to her supervisor and called me back a few days later to tell me that there was an ordinance, and the police cited them. My question is: Why did it take a year? Do the officers even know the ordinances?”

     Commander Tom Stacho, who accompanied Hamm to the meeting, told Williams that no one knows all the ordinances, not even him, or Captain Hamm.

     “The book is this thick,” he said, holding his hands apart by about twelve inches. “But they have time to research and ask someone in that situation. I do not ask my officers to know every ordinance. I do not; the chief of police does not.”

     Williams persisted. “I had the ordinance and told her about it. I called for a year and a half, maybe more.”

     Stacho reminded her that at any time during a call to the police, people can ask for a supervisor. “Our job is to educate our police officers,” he said.

     “She is educated now,” laughed Williams.

     Carmen, a resident seated in the back of the room, suggested police cars should have bulletproof doors to use as a shield and add binoculars to aid in the pursuit of criminals. He thought police should have crossbows available that could be useful because “they are silent and deadly and minimize damage.”

     “High-power rifles should be available from high towers. I keep thinking about Vegas, where that guy killed 68 people,” he said, adding, “That would also be good for zombies or Armageddon.”

     Stacho assured Carmen that the Cleveland Police have high-powered rifles available with officers specialized in their use, and should the need arise, will use them.

     “We have a dash camera installed in our cars that reads license plates, and is designed to pick up detail from a distance,” said Hamm. “We have not activated all of them yet, but they even identify the state where the plates are from and run a background check on them.”

     Region 2 General Felony Unit Supervisor Erin Stone reported on several cases making their way through the criminal court system, including an attempted carjacking on the 1900 block of W. 50th Street, where an 82-year-old woman pulled into her driveway, and a young male wearing a ski mask confronted her, demanding her keys.

     “This woman should have been a lawyer because even though she handed over her keys, she somehow negotiated them back,” said Stone. “I have to meet her. The car thief went back after his friends encouraged him to try again. She screamed, and they ran away.”

     Stone said a car was stolen at W. 54th Street and Bridge Ave. after a DoorDash driver left their car running with the keys in while they delivered food up to the door.

     “I am not trying to blame the victim here, but if you are going to run into a gas station for a pack of smokes or something to drink, do not leave your car unattended and running,” Stone advised. “You think it will not happen to you because you are gone in only thirty seconds; I have done it once, and fortunately, my car was still there.”