CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Cuyahoga County changed its chase policy, but one council member says it’s too little too late.
The more restrictive policy was introduced earlier this month, but only after three people were killed in chases, including two innocent bystanders.
Sheriff Harold Pretel deployed deputies to patrol downtown Cleveland in August 2023.
County Council member Sunny Simon said she had concerns from the get-go.
“Months prior to the actual incident in March, I was concerned, along with my colleague [Mike] Gallagher, that something awful could happen,” Simon said.
After a series of chases, one became deadly.
It was the fiery crash in March that killed Tamaya Westmoreland, an innocent driver on the tail end of a deputy chase that culminated at the Eddy road exit off I-90.
Five months later, it happened again.
Sharday Elder died in a second chase by the same deputy. Both chases were over traffic violations.
News 5 asked Simon if she thought about the two women.
“I certainly do and I remember talking to you right after it happened and I broke down in tears because it was something that should’ve never happened,” Simon said.
Chase after chase, Pretel stood by his pursuit policy, calling it one of the best in the state.
Simon says she saw many loopholes and opportunities for something to go wrong, but says the council wasn’t listened to.
The calls for change grew louder after Elder’s death.
On Sept. 9, Black Lives Matter-Cleveland stood outside the county administration building with the families of the two women killed, along with their attorney, Stanley Jackson.
“We want to know why this was allowed to happen in our community,” BLM Cleveland President LaTonya Goldsby said.
“Because this county, this county sheriff, they didn’t do their job. The County Executive didn’t do his job,” Stanley said.
Last week, County Executive Chris Ronayne was asked about the policy change during the State of the County. But he has yet to answer News 5’s questions.
“We all work on continuous improvement, we all work on making change that matters in the lives of our community. So we took it seriously and changed the policy,” Ronayne said.
But it took months before the county put anything on paper. Simon began crafting her own chase policy after Westmoreland’s death.
The new policy restricts chases to felonies, and not just for drivers who don’t stop on command.
News 5 asked Pretel what took so long.
“It had to be worked. This is a comprehensive policy with buy-in from various stakeholders and partners,” Pretel said.
"In my mind, I think it was too little too late, I have to say that since I was concerned about it in 2024 and in committee meetings talking about concerns talking about what could happen and not being listened to county council was not listened to and it took three fatalities to make this change and I’m sorry for the families that we weren’t able to come together sooner,” Simon said.
Simon commented on the expectation for lawsuits.
“Which was predicted. I said if we have lawsuits we’re going to bear 100% of that liability even though we’re patrolling the streets of Cleveland without any contribution from Cleveland,” Simon said.
Even with the policy change, Simon doesn’t want a dedicated unit in downtown Cleveland.
“I think Cleveland needs to police its own streets,” Simon said.
The County Council will discuss the sheriff’s department's role in Cleveland next month during budget hearings.
