CLEVELAND — The shootings. The chases. The public outcry.
We've chronicled concerns about the sheriff's department's Downtown Safety Patrol. Is a specialized unit of deputies making Cleveland safer, or putting too many people at risk?
In a special edition of News 5, News 5 Investigator Tara Morgan took a hard look at the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Downtown Safety Patrol.
Watch the special:
Sheriff Harold Pretel said that his unit is making the streets safer, but over the past year, News 5 Investigators have exposed problem after problem.
One deputy fired his gun twice at teenagers in just seven months, injuring a 15-year-old boy. Another deputy was behind the wheel in two separate high-speed chases that killed innocent women.
Months after concerns were raised, it took multiple deaths before the county decided to change its chase policy.
RELATED: Deputy chase policy revised months after 3 deaths and calls for change
But is changing the policy enough? The county is set to begin budget talks with the sheriff's department, which wants to rebrand and expand the safety patrol across the county.
One council member thinks Cleveland should be patrolling its own streets.
