I-Team: Busy weekend in Cleveland puts pressure on police

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered internal memos and text chains showing Cleveland Police relying on officers to sign up to work overtime in order to keep the peace surrounding a series of major events.

Over the next few days, the Guardians are scheduled to host playoff games, the city will host the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and the Browns host the Bengals.

At the same time, Cleveland Police also have created a special team of officers to watch out for street takeovers.

And, all of this comes as the Cleveland Police force has been chronically short-staffed.

So, we investigated.

So much going on means so many people to protect.

A memo shows Cleveland Police asking for volunteers to agree to work overtime surrounding Guardians playoff games.

We found more officers needed to work overtime for the Rock Hall ceremony. A text shows officers needed to work on the security team for Sunday’s Browns game. And, a memo shows a call for officers to work a city-wide detail to stop street takeovers.

All of that while we’ve reported extensively on Cleveland Police short-staffing.

In fact, last month during street takeovers, multiple 9-1-1 callers wondered why they didn’t see police there taking action.

“These staffing levels are so short, it scares me,” President of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association Andy Gasiewski said.

He pointed out officers already work many, many extra hours to keep up regular patrols. Now, they face a series of calls for overtime in one weekend around special events.

And, we’ve seen trouble before at some events including the Christmas tree lighting ceremony last December.

“You can only get so many volunteers. People are at their limit,” Gasiewski said. “There’s only so much you can get from a human being working.”

In fact, the I-Team has been tracking these kinds of messages sent through the Cleveland Police Department on a regular basis. Constant calls for officers to fill in and work overtime. In some cases, the messages have shown several officers needed on a routine shift. Not one for a special event.

We asked the Cleveland Police Chief how officers can keep up basic patrols and provide all this extra coverage for all of the special events.

“I’ve tried to become a little more creative…” the Chief said.

Chief Todd said she has not canceled days off, and she wants to avoid forcing officers to work overtime.

Instead, she hopes they’ll sign up for overtime that they want to work.

“There are some people who, absolutely, love the overtime, making overtime. Or, they love to be around the crowds,” Chief Todd went on to say.

“Our men and women step up all the time to make sure these events are safe,” she added.

If you plan to go to any of the special events, there’s a good chance you’ll also see many officers working OT.

If enough police do not volunteer to work overtime, they can be forced to stay over even after 12-hour shifts.

Meantime, the union says the overall size of the force continues to shrink.

Already this year, 96 more officers have left. And, that number is far higher than the number of recruits in training.

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