CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley reports Cleveland Public Library leaders are in the process of conducting a full examination of security procedures at all library branches.
Kelley told News 5 the study into library security is in response to the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Brandon Cutnoe, at the South Brooklyn branch back on July 23.
Kelley said he believes library security acted properly the night Cutnoe was killed, but said the study will look into the training of security personnel, whether metal detectors should be installed at all library branches and that all security procedures are now under review.
“It’s really going to be a comprehensive look at what happened, and how to we prevent these things from happening in the future,” Kelley said.
“A lot of kids go there, a lot of families go there, we don’t want people intimidated, we want this to remain the family focused focal point that it is right now.”
Ralph Dempsey cared for Cutnoe and allowed Cutnoe to live at his home for several months prior to the fatal shooting.
Dempsey believes it's critical library security be improved as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of hundreds of other children who visit Cleveland libraries on a weekly basis.
“Libraries should have security and they should have working metal detectors period,” Dempsey said.
“There’s too many other kids in there that could have got hurt at the same time.”
Dempsey said he's now in the process of collecting funds to create an even larger foster home in memory of Brandon.
Meanwhile, Kelley said the security study could potentially recommend that library security staff be armed, and said he hopes the security recommendations are made within the next few months.
“We tend to look at libraries as safe spaces and we need them to continue to be,” Kelley said.
“It’s something that we all need to work together to vigilant to make sure that violence in the community does not escalate.”
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