CLEVELAND — It's Chris Tevis' first full week back at work.
“I’ve just been able to get back to work moving around, I still have a bullet in my foot,” said Tevis.
Tevis is one of the nine victims injured in that mass shooting in Cleveland’s Warehouse District early this month.
“This took a toll on me, and then not only that, but mentally, I have a lot of social anxiety that I didn’t have before,” said Tevis.
Since that July 9 incident, there have multiple other shootings in downtown Cleveland. With that in mind, Cleveland Police and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office are collaborating by adding eight sheriff's deputies downtown to help CPD’s units already patrolling the area.
“People can come downtown and see that it’s a safe environment, and it also tells people don’t bring nonsense downtown,” said Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel.
Tevis said in his case, he doesn't think law enforcement's presence made a difference.
“Personally, I don’t believe that the police was an issue because there was a lot police down there," said Tevis.
“That’s not a norm when you have a mass shooting with nine people shot, and the individual didn’t care that law enforcement was there and visible,” Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond responded. “Overall safety in the presence of officers, I think, is extremely important, it makes people feel safe, and they are safe."
Drummond said the plan is to monitor data from the department's crime analysis unit to deter where sheriff's deputies should be patrolling, Drummond added that this partnership will help the department as its own officers, but he believes legislation needs to change.
“I believe we need common sense gun laws. There are a proliferation of guns in our community, so individuals out there are not shy to use their weapons and, more specifically, guns to solve their problems,” said Drummond.
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