City plans to buy police gear

Officials discuss recruiting, hiring challenges among safety forces

Based on the latest 2020 U.S. Census figures, Lorain now ranks as the ninth largest city in Ohio, surpassing Youngstown in size.

Lorain is seeking more police officers and aiming for better police work in the community, the city’s elected leaders said.

But the process may not happen as quickly as Lorain residents and officials would like.

Council had more than 20 minutes of discussion on public safety during the regular meeting of Sept. 7.

They also discussed the best ways to spend federal grant money to combat the negative economic effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the city and residents.

Council voted 10-0 to approve a spending plan for $784,570.55 from Lorain’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

That plan includes $635,977 for cars and gear for Lorain to hire new police officers, said Mayor Jack Bradley.

Bradley’s spending plan was determined in part by 1,400 responses to a survey asking residents how they wanted to see the city spend the American Rescue Plan money.

The results will be presented to Council before their next regular meeting, he said.

Hiring more police officers is a top response from the public, Bradley said.

The city police department has 104 officers, including four introduced last week and two being interviewed on Sept. 8, Bradley said. The goal is to get 110 officers for the department, he said.

Meanwhile the city still has incidents of violence that are severe or have potential to be.

Lorain police continue investigating two auxiliary officers who were shot early Sept. 5. One officer suffered an injury to a finger and one was struck in the forehead, suffering a non-life-threatening injury.

Both were treated at Mercy Health - Lorain Hospital and were recovering later that day, according to police.

Based on the latest 2020 U.S. Census figures, Lorain now ranks as the ninth largest city in Ohio, surpassing Youngstown in size.

But Council members Mary Springowski and Rey Carrion complained Lorain lags behind other cities in the number of officers based on population. Some smaller cities, including Youngstown, with 142 officers and 49 civilians, and Mansfield, have more patrolmen and women, they said.

Lorain has 15.6 officers per 10,000 residents. There are 13 other cities — Mansfield, Hamilton, Lakewood, Euclid, Springfield, Toledo, Canton, Youngstown, Akron, Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland that invest more per 10,000 residents, Carrion said.

It is an issue, Carrion said, although just hiring more police officers won’t fully solve the problems without a strategic approach.

Councilwoman JoAnne Moon described having need for police officers to help in situations when two men were stalking her. It appeared one had a mental health issue, she said.

Councilwoman Pamela Carter agreed the city needs more officers and said police officers need support as well. She asked about the process for getting new officers onto the force.

Finding police

There are a number of reasons why it has become more difficult to attract new officers, Bradley said.

The police academies stopped training courses during part of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Police officers must be at least 21 years old, but the number of potential recruits drops from the time 18-yearolds graduate high school and the minimum age, Bradley said.

There also is a stigma about police work today, especially in minority communities, the mayor said. Bradley also cited the experience of his Chief of Staff Rick Soto, a retired Lorain police officer. When Soto tested to join the department, there were 300 applicants; this year Lorain had 12 applicants and one passed the civil service requirements.

Lorain police could create a new paid cadet program for college-age candidates who would divide their time between working for the police department and taking police academy courses. That would ensure the department gets candidates who want to be police officers, Bradley said.

He also credited police Chief James McCann for his work finding officers who want to come to Lorain to work. The city needs better policing from people who want the job and who represent the racial and ethnic characteristics of the population of Lorain, the mayor said.

Other spending

Springowski said she concurred with the spending plan but suggested the recipients be presented individually for consideration. Council members are not consulted on the expenses before they are presented in the legislation, she said.

Carrion suggested Council meet with the administration and approach the spending as a team. The money is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address key issues in the city, he said.

The city administration should let Council and the public know when applications are available for the federal spending, Carrion said.

Lorain should spend some of the money on community violence intervention programs, Carrion added. The police spending will pay for three Dodge Charger police cars, five Ford Explorers, three Chevrolet Traverses, along with eight computers, eight cameras, 11 radios, three light sets, and a number of stun guns, portable radios, gear and uniforms, according to the city legislation.

The other spending includes:

• $50,000 to support Main Street Lorain over four years

• $7,570.55 for various cleaning supplies and clear plastic panels for the city Public Property Department

• $70,000 over two years for Lorain Municipal Court to implement a risk assessment process for defendants who have a high or low risk of re-offending while out of jail on bond.

• $5,000 for the Lorain Veterans Council to beautify Pulaski Park

• $25,000 for the food pantry program of Pathways Enrichment Center

• $25,000 for the Lorain Historical Society