CLEVELAND — When gunfire erupted outside a bar in The Flats hours after the Browns home opener earlier this month, changes were quickly made. Since then, business owners say they've noticed an increased police presence in the area.
The goal is to prevent something like this from happening again and to show the public that The Flats are safe.
It was just a few weeks ago when video footage showed people running outside "Play" in The Flats, hours after the home opener, followed by gunfire.
“There was like a, like a western shootout on one of our streets,” said Michael Grano, operating partner at Collision Bend and a member of Flats Forward.
Six people were shot after that game. Grano said it never should have happened.
“I would have liked to see more security down here. There's no doubt about it. In hindsight, once again, is always hindsight 20/20,” said Grano.
Since then, on warm and sunny days, people are still coming down to enjoy The Flats—but now, they’re noticing more officers. That increased security comes from a coordinated effort between bars, restaurants, and police.
“Last Sunday, we had a game, and it was staff. It was staffed perfectly right,” said Grano.
We also sat down with Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd and asked if, in hindsight, more officers should have been deployed on the Sunday of the shooting.
“So, not necessarily, it's not about the amount of officers, it's about where they are when the situation happened. So I can tell you, we had a very large contingency of officers that were working that day. But again, they're dealing with the traffic issues. You know, with the out of the game, they're deployed throughout the downtown area and the date of that incident, you know, we were having a lot of issues in the warehouse district, and that's where most of those officers were when the incident occurred,” said Todd.
The chief said the department was not understaffed on the day of the shooting; rather, the officers were positioned in different areas of the city. Since then, more officers have been deployed to The Flats.
“We had a redeployment plan, and that plan was to make sure, regardless of the amount of traffic, that there is that visible presence in the flats,” said Todd.
She believes that the new strategy is already making a difference—but she reminds the public: safety isn’t just up to police.
“So just mere presence alone doesn't stop everything, but our officers are out there to make sure that the community sees them, they feel safe and that they're there to immediately address anything that happens,” said Todd.
Businesses and members of the Flats Forward group have also ramped up their own security efforts. They want to reassure the public that The Flats remain a safe place to go.
“We voiced all of our concerns, they listened to us, they adapted and I think moving forward, things are going to be really great,” said Grano.
