Chases from suburbs draw ire

Cleveland councilman calls out police from eastern communities, including Lake County

Cleveland’s Ward 8 Councilman Michael D. Polensek said police chases from the eastern suburbs, including Lake County, have been a problem in his district for decades.

The longtime councilman, whose district includes North Shore Collinwood, Collinwood Village and the eastern section of the Glenville neighborhood, said the area provides an ideal exit point for those being pursued in a police chase. Some of the highway exits in his district go straight into neighborhoods and suspects

think that gives them the best chance to lose pursuing police cars.

That, however, has caused damage to everything from fire hydrants to homes, Polensek said. The councilman said for years he has been asking for a better protocol between Lake County police departments and the Cleveland police. He’s made that request again after a Willowick police officer crashed into a home at the intersection of East 147th Street and Waterloo Road in Cleveland on Aug. 27.

Two residents who were upstairs in the home at the time of the crash as well as the Willowick officer — Don Slapnicker — were taken to the hospital, but none were seriously injured. Slapnicker’s cruiser was totaled and Polensek said the home’s entire framed structure was shifted to the west as a result of the impact.

Polensek said this is the third time the home has been hit as a result of highspeed chases. This time, however, the home may be beyond repair. He said the homeowner has to stay in a hotel and the basement of the home flooded after heavy rains Aug. 29.

“It is bad enough to see the damage that has been inflicted to (the home) but then to understand that the perpetrators were able to allude arrest, after all of this, is even more infuriating,” Polensek said in a letter.

That letter was addressed to Cleveland Public Safety Michael McGrath, but Willowick Mayor Richard J. Regovich and Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams were among those CC’d on the letter addressing what Polensek referred to as “Blues Brothers” chases.

“There has to be a better protocol with Lake County Police Departments and CPD must become more engaged in this process,” Polensek wrote. “... I am tired of hearing that ‘it is a pursuit out of the suburbs and the CPD is not in control or engaged until after the accidents and damage has occurred.’ Something is wrong with that picture.”

Polensek continued, “The obvious question at (t)his point, does CPD have any information regarding the suspects and the vehicle they were in? What restitution will the city of Willowick provide (the homeowner) and his family since he indicated to me, today, that he is afraid to live in his own home and believes the structure will have to be demolished as a result of this latest accident?”

In the letter, Polensek wrote that he is officially requesting that the Department of Public and the Department of Law look into the matter to see what assistance they may be able to provide the homeowner.

“Maybe when the suburbs have to start paying for the damage done to city property and my constituents’ property, there will be a better protocol implemented so as to minimize the potential damage and possible injury or death,” he wrote. “This is 2018 and this has gone on far too long; there has to be resolution.”

The chase that damaged the home started with a smash-and-grab in the early morning hours Aug. 27 at the Eastlake LoanMax on Vine Street. Eastlake police said a stolen vehicle was used to smash through the doors at the LoanMax and after gaining access to the building, the suspects took the ATM and fled in another stolen vehicle. An Eastlake police officer located the getaway vehicle on state Route 91 entering state Route 2 westbound.

As the suspects passed the ramp at East 305th Street, a Willowick police cruiser driven by Slapnicker joined in to assist Eastlake in the attempt to stop the vehicle. The suspect made a sudden exit in Cleveland, and Slapnicker tried to follow but lost control and crashed into the home. The pursuit was terminated following the crash, but an investigation is ongoing.

Later that day Willowick Police Chief Brian Turner said he had no issue with Slapnicker’s decision to pursue the suspect and help out a neighboring agency. Turner said Northeast Ohio has seen a rash of smash-and-grabs and he doesn’t want to send a message that people can just drive away after committing these crimes.

Turner responded to Polensek’s letter with one of his own, writing that he was aware of the councilman’s desire to have Willowick pay for the damages. He said he would defer to city attorneys and/or insurance carrier for any decision on that request, but said he had some thoughts regarding the incident.

“This is nothing more than political grandstanding and a pathetic attempt by an irrelevant person to get his name and face out in public again,” Turner wrote. “If this individual truly cared about was going on in the area, he would have reached out to local law enforcement and requested a meeting to offer ideas and insights into the real problem. Instead, he has the audacity to attack law enforcement, the very men and women putting their lives on the line, for the actions of violent thugs. Police pursuits are a very serious matter, and his suggestion that police officers somehow are to blame is incredible.”

Polensek, who said he’s pro-law enforcement, said he wants Cleveland officials to sit down with either the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate some type of meeting or with a state agency like the Ohio Highway Patrol to establish a better protocol.

“I want the bad guys caught, I want them brought to justice,” Polensek said.

“They’re doing the same smash and grabs in Cuyahoga and the city of Cleveland as well.”