CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cleveland City Hall has no new plan to crack down on illegal dirt bikes even after the FOX 8 I team revealed an exclusive video that left so many people indignant.
The I-Team showed you a week ago Hundreds of illegal dirt bikes and ATVs are taking over the city streets and the freeway. Some drivers even fired shots as they rolled on.
On Wednesday city councils called for what to do with the dirt bikes.
Pedestrian struck by a car on the east side of Cleveland dies in hospital
The director of security gave no new hope that the police would do anything to stop packs of dirt bikes if it happened again.
Council members grilled the security director.
“What do we pay the police for? Do we get anything for the taxes we pay? ”Said Alderman Kevin Bishop.
“We have never seen this kind of lawlessness before,” said Councilor Joe Jones.
The council’s safety committee said something had to be done to take the roads back from drivers.
Video shows chaos in Cuyahoga County Jail
City Police officers say they have orders not to chase the bikes.
The police have a special unit to target dirt bikes, but during that massive takeover days ago the special unit was not on the streets.
“Look at what other cities have done. We have to do it and, Mr. Chairperson of the Director of Security, we have to do it sooner rather than later, ”said Councilor Brian Kazy.
Safety Director Karrie Howard replied: “We are looking for a solution.”
While he was discussing a solution, he did nothing to address the problem immediately. Howard talked about the need to hire more police officers and get more advice about passengers from citizens.
“When they are en masse, we need calls from the public to tell us where they are,” said Howard.
During the last major road takeover, the police received 911 calls for hours about the dirt bikes, and it didn’t matter.
Records show that police have taken more than 2,300 complaint calls since 2019, but investigators have only confiscated seven dirt bikes and ATVs.
Public Safety Council Chairman Blaine Griffin also asked about the Cleveland Police Chopper, suggesting that it should be used more against the pack of drivers.
Recently, the I-Team discovered that the City Hall expired the maintenance contract for police helicopters last year.
The director of security did not address this directly.
Councilor Mike Polensek walked out of the hearing in disgust.
“This administration is unable to deal with citizen complaints and ensure public safety on our roads,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything that gives me hope that laws will be enforced in this city.”
Also last week, Cuyahoga County Attorney Michael O’Malley called the Cleveland police about not doing enough about the dirt bikes. The security director and a deputy chief of police did not respond.
Shut down
Suggest a correction
Suggest a correction
