By Roldo Bartimole
We have a No Fault Cleveland City Hall.
– A No Fault Mayor Frank Jackson.
– A No Fault Police Chief Frank McGrath.
– A No Fault Safety Director Marty Flask.
– A No Fault Cleveland Police Force.
HELL, nobody’s responsible for Anything in Cleveland.
What a wonderful world where no one is to blame for anything. The best of all worlds. No consequences. Impunity to them all.
Except for those who suffer the consequences of this madness. Two dead citizens and their families.
Apparently in Jackson’s world no one who works for him merits any blame for anything.
Jackson rejects the findings by Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine’s report that the police chase and gunning down of two citizens was a “systemic failure” and a failure of “command” and “communications.” This rejection is totally unacceptable.
This simple dodge should not be allowed to pass.
Jackson’s remarks fully backing McGrath and Flask reveal a delinquency on his part of major proportions.
In his first week of office in 2006 Jackson said that “excessive force shall not be tolerated.” He was reacting then to a rash of police shootings. This was a perfect warning.
What happened to that Frank Jackson?
Here was a new day, Mayor Jackson was warning police on the “use of force.”
We didn’t get a “new day.” We got the same old excuses for poor, if not criminal, police work.
By his remarks in reaction to DeWine’s report the Mayor now says, “I’ll look the other way on the misuse of massive police force.”
What kind of lesson is this? What does this say to the community?
The even larger problem is that no one seems to be calling the Mayor to task.
Jackson got testy to a reporter’s question of whether the chief’s resignation was in order and cut off the reporter who asked a reasonable and apt question.
He should be asking for resignations. I can’t remember a similar situation where a mayor wouldn’t be under severe pressure to get rid of people who are serving him so badly.
Maybe he’s the one who should resign.
Sixty-two patrol cars, 59 without permission, 137 bullets in less than a half minute in a pursuit violating police procedure of two or three cars, certainly met DeWine’s assessment of a system failure. Who could believe differently?
The discrepancy of whether the two killed had a gun, were actually firing a gun, did not have a gun, were not firing a gun, or had a soda can can’t be divorced from an out-of-control mad, uncalled-for pursuit of a car that backfired.
A backfire misjudged as a gunshot cause this mayhem.
That says a whole lot about the mentality of the Cleveland police force.
It is not under control. It is not managed. It is not governed.
It needs an outside force – the U. S. Justice Department – to examine and force correction.
There is only one place now to put the blame. At the top. At Mayor Jackson’s desk.
This is happening on his watch. It is his responsibility.
Yet, I don’t see anyone telling this mayor he has no cover from these responsibilities.
Much of the responsibility is with the press. It has allowed this mayor to get away with much too much. It has left the public uninformed.
It is what it is.
And it doesn’t take much observation to know it.
Roldo Bartimole has been reporting since 1959. He came to Cleveland in 1965 to report for the Plain Dealer where he worked twice in the 1960s, left for the Wall Street Journal in 1967. He started publishing his newsletter Point of View in 1968 and ended it in 2000.In 1991 he was awarded the Second Annual Joe Callaway Award for Civic Courage in Washington, D.C. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, Cleveland chapter, in 2002, and was named to the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame, 2004. [Photo by Todd Bartimole.]
5 Responses to “ROLDO: The Fault Lies with Mayor Frank Jackson”
Larry Durstin
Great column, Roldo. Waiting for the Feds to come in and solve this problem is like waiting for Godot. Jackson, who doesn’t have to worry about getting re-elected if he wants to run, is the guy who can make something real happen. I’ve generally been a supporter of his, but now is the time to have the courage to be great and set an example to all other mayors who kowtow to the police.Always waiting for the Feds is a prescription for inaction – something jackson seems more that happy to allow happen
Roldo Bartimole
Larry: We need a federal investigation of this.
I have absolutely no faith in Mayor Jackson
or anyone else locally. We need some outside eyes and ears.
I understand your reluctance but locally there is nothing.
Jackson, as I’ve said before, has the entire administration
on cruise control and has a totally self-emasculated city council,
a cowardly news media and defeated population.
Can I make it more depressing?
Larry Durstin
I think the only way things are going to get better is if local politicos have the courage to stand up to the police. If the Feds come in they”ll just tidy things up for a bit, then when they leave, it’s business as usual. The chief should fire the cops for not obeying direct orders and then he should resign. It’s just too easy for local politicians in police matters to wait for someone else to do their jobs. Pressure needs to be put on the mayor to act, rather than be given a pass. If the feds come in then, fine.
IndyCA35
So what happens now? If the feds don’t show up, and Jackson does not punish anyone, then what are we left with? Civil suits?
Personally I hope the feds don’t show up. Remember Rodney King in LA bout 20 years ago? He got $2.8 million and got re-arrested about 20 times for felonies. I’m kind of proud that there was no violence in cleveland.
And I’ll tell you this: If ever I see a police car behind me with the lights flashing, I will immediately pull over.
Chris
The Police Chief’s name is MIKE McGrath…not Frank. Before you go off on a rant, perhaps do a little fact-checking first.