PHOTO BY BRUCE CHECEFSKY

Tuesday, October 14, 2024; Second District Policing Committee Meeting, OneHope NEO, 3202 Fulton Road: Second District Commander Timothy Maffo-Judd.

by Bruce Checefsky

   (Plain Press November 2025) Timothy Maffo-Judd, 2nd District Commander, gave an update report to about 40 residents of the Near West Side at the policing committee meeting in early October. OneHope NEO on Fulton Road, a community outreach center that provides services to residents on the city’s Near West Side, including mental health services, free monthly health screenings, and job training, hosted the meeting. District 2 includes the Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, Old Brooklyn, and Ohio City.

   Edie Le Bouton, a resident of the neighborhood and co-chair of the committee, introduced the district commander following a Pledge of Allegiance. 

   “Crime is down city-wide,” Maffo-Judd said to a round of applause.

   “Homicide is down over 20% citywide; rapes are down over 22%; robberies are down over 20%; felonious assaults are down over 12%; burglaries are down over 10%; thefts are down 6%; and grand theft motor vehicles as of September 29 were down over 22%,” he said.

   Maffo-Judd reported homicides were down over 46% in the 2nd District, with rapes down over 36%, robberies down over 23%, felonious assaults down over 14%, burglaries down over 6%, thefts down over 9%, and grand theft motor vehicle down over 17%. 

   Cleveland Police handled over 1,203 calls for service in September, with 191 incidents in District 2 alone for motor vehicle trespass, including break-ins and car window smashing. 

   “This past Sunday (October 12^th) we had over 100 car windows damaged in the 3rd District alone and over 50 in the 2nd District,” said Maffo-Judd. “So, that’s a problem we have to solve.”

   The authorities created a task force in response to an increase in auto break-ins throughout September 2025. The Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) launched an investigation, using existing technology like the Real Time Crime Center and working with police districts to catch suspects. This effort culminated in the arrest of 10 juveniles in mid-October. 

   “Stolen cars are driven into a certain area; passengers get out of the stolen cars, breaking windows rapidly, taking items, and leaving the scene,” he continued. “It is very challenging for us, the community, and the prosecutor’s office.”

   Prosecutors expect to charge the ten juveniles in the coming weeks.

   “That is good stuff,” Maffo-Judd said. “We recognized an issue and went out to attack it, with over 16 arrests in the past three weeks alone.”

   Residents broke out in applause again. 

   In September, the Second District made an additional 71 arrests, excluding the carjacking arrests. They confiscated firearms, seized narcotics in over thirty incidents, and found 460 traffic violations.

   “We are out there, working very diligently, and we won’t sit on our hands,” he said. “You can tell that I am a very high-energy guy; I do not sit still very well.”

   Maffo-Judd said National Guard troops were not being deployed to Cleveland, at least not yet.

   “I do not expect that to happen, but if by some rare chance they want to come to Cleveland, it would just be like Chicago, where they are walking around in certain neighborhoods. They have no law enforcement capabilities; they cannot arrest people, and they are not officers. You have to be certified to be an arresting officer for any state or jurisdiction. As of now, that has not happened.”

   Trump has deployed the National Guard to Democratic-led cities that he claims are crime ridden, with about 500 National Guard members, including 300 from Illinois and 200 from Texas, stationed at an Army Reserve facility in Elwood, near Chicago. Federal officials deployed them against the wishes of Illinois officials.

   In September, Ohio Republican Representative Max Miller wrote an op-ed in the Washington Times calling for the National Guard to be deployed in Cleveland. Miller represents Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, which includes a portion of Northeast Ohio, Medina and Wayne counties, as well as parts of Cuyahoga and Holmes counties. Trump and the Club for Growth, a political organization with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and economic issues, endorsed him during the 2022 election.

   Miller justified the deployment of the National Guard in Cleveland by citing what he described as rising crime rates and an atmosphere of lawlessness that made the city barely recognizable. His suburban constituents were afraid to visit the city, according to him. 

   The City of Cleveland responded by releasing a statement defending its local law enforcement and federal partnerships.

   Last year, Mayor Justin Bibb faced criticism for appointing Maffo-Judd to the district commander position after investigators looked into workplace violence and a retaliation complaint filed by a fellow officer in 2022. The complaint alleges he used homophobic slurs when referring to the LGBTQ community, according to court records reported by NEWS19 (WOIO-TV). Maffo-Judd issued an apology and expressed his commitment to rebuilding trust with the LGBTQ+ community. 

   Shannon Musson from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office reported on several pending and resolved cases, including a break-in at Rock & Roll City Studios at 5500 Walworth Ave. 

   “Several guys scheduled a session to do music, then robbed the guy who was running it,” said Musson. “He pled guilty to a mandatory prison term. Another robbery at the same studio took place a couple of weeks later. A guy set up an appointment to make music and robbed them. He got five years in prison.”

   She added, “While parked at West 54th and Storer Ave, two people got murdered for literally just sitting in their car. We put capital punishment specs on that for the death penalty.”

   Musson and the prosecutor’s office are working with police on the rash of recent car break-ins, she added.

   “Fortunately or unfortunately, these are misdemeanors. While it is a major inconvenience for people to have their car windows broken, it is a motor vehicle trespassing misdemeanor, especially in juvenile court.”

   “Not much will happen to these kids,” she confirmed. “We do not have high hopes that a [judge’s] hammer will hit there.”      

   “The parents should be responsible,” someone shouted from the back of the room. There was general agreement. 

   Lt. Mike Norman, public information officer (PIO) for the Cleveland Division of Fire, reported on several fire deaths throughout the city. Fire Chief Anthony Luke was suspended with pay, he added, after a controversial social media post criticizing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in September. The post was removed several days later.

   Luke joined the Cleveland Fire Department in 1994. He was promoted to chief in 2022.

   The reposted cartoon by Benjamin Slyngstad, a critic of President Donald Trump and his MAGA following, depicted kneeling elephants in suits bowing to an assault rifle on top of a podium. Mayor Bibb called the post “insensitive” and “incendiari”.

   Rose Roy gave the treasure’s report and raffled off the prize money, which was given back to the fund by the winners. Maffo-Judd called for volunteers for upcoming holiday events. 

   “I said it before, I’ll say it again, and at every meeting. You are the best community in the city, and you set the tone for the rest of the city,” he said. “Thank you for being part of this community.”

   The 2nd District Christmas drive-thru event, which provides toys and gifts to local children during the holidays and is hosted by the Cleveland Police Foundation, will take place on December 13 between 12 PM and 2 PM at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church on Pearl Road in Old Brooklyn.

Update: Cleveland police reported an additional 37 vehicles damaged in a coordinated series of break-ins between midnight and 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, October 26, in the Ohio City and Detroit-Shoreway neighborhoods.