New video inside investigation of Cleveland street takeovers: I-Team

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-TEAM has uncovered exclusive video and more revealing what happened in Cleveland this weekend during street takeovers that went on for hours.

The I-Team also obtained video from ODOT by a records request.

Video released to the I-Team shows masked men blocking the Innerbelt Bridge for cars to perform stunts in the middle of the road. The same thing happened in Ohio City, University Circle and near Lee and Miles.

“Firearms were pointed at the bus,” said Melvin Beck, an owner of PST, LLC, a limo business. “My driver, he felt unsafe and passengers were scared. They started swarming him, jumping on the hood of the bus, pulling on the windows. And, they smashed the side window.”

The crowds showed fearlessness, even jumping on a Cleveland police car with an officer inside. According to radio traffic, a Cleveland officer reported people jumping on his cruiser.

He said, “Hey I got people jumping on my car. I had at least eight, nine people jumping on my car banging on my windows.”

And, the University Circle police chief said someone fired a BB gun at one of his officers.

“Struck him multiple times in the face causing him to duck down,” said University Circle Police Chief Tom Wetzel. “Fortunately, for him, there were no significant injuries as a result of that, but it is particularly disturbing.”

There were also reports of some in the crowd pouring gasoline on the road and setting off fireworks.

The Cleveland police chief said the takeovers were organized by someone from Cincinnati.  Police did not arrest any of the organizers, and they are continuing to investigate.

Meantime, we checked, and, still, no one has been arrested from a street takeover in Playhouse Square that happened in May.

This weekend, Cleveland police said some cars involved had fake license plates. In fact ,on police radio, an officer said during one takeover, people involved stole license plates from other cars.

Law enforcement is now trying to come up with a strategy for battling street takeovers. However, many people are losing patience.

Joe Zkiab, another owner of the limo business, said it will cost a couple thousand dollars to fix the bus.

“Now, I have to take it out of service. That hurts,” Zkiab said. He noted that he has witnessed the street takeovers several times this summer.

“The area got cleaned for a while last year when the sheriff’s office were downtown a lot,” Zkiab said. “We need more of the deputies downtown. There is not enough Cleveland officers. I am scared this is just the beginning.”

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