Mayor Justin Bibb ran for office as a police reformer who also acknowledged that voters want cops to show up when they call. The last few weeks have shown what a knotty challenge it is to deliver on those two promises.By the numbers, the worst of crime is down in Cleveland. Homicides, year to date, are at their lowest level since before the pandemic. But this year’s donut-driving, firework-popping street takeovers are noisy and potentially dangerous disruptions that don’t show up in that number. If that wasn’t enough, then came the news last week that – despite a 10-year consent decree – police have been searching Black motorists more often than whites. The takeovers are a real public safety issue for Bibb. They’re also a problem of perception and politics for a first-term mayor who is trying to show off a safer city despite an understaffed police force. Mayor Justin Bibb leaves a news conference at Cleveland City Hall about police search and seizure data. Credit: Nick Castele / Signal ClevelandCleveland residents’ views on street takeoversAfter a Saturday night of street takeovers on the last weekend of September, Clevelanders shared their own ideas for how Bibb should respond.Lataya Spencer, 23, said she finds the takeovers irritating. People have places to be, she said – they don’t want to sit in traffic while stunt drivers bar the way. She was surprised that police didn’t stop the cars from taking over part of the Innerbelt. “How do you even let them get to the freeway to block the freeway off? That don’t make sense,” she said. “You should try to get in the way to try to stop cars from holding up traffic like that.”According to Glenville resident Richard Wheat, arrests and prosecutions should be in order.“When you catch them, don’t write a ticket for them, lock them up,” he said. “And if you lock one up, two more will come replace them. Lock them up too.”Wheat’s point of view has sympathy at City Hall. The mayor offered tough talk of his own in a social media video after the late-September street takeovers. He called those responsible “criminals” and said he’d “bring the full weight of the law down upon this type of illegal activity.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mayor Justin M. Bibb (@mayorbibb)Finding a constitutional way to stop stunt driversAt a news conference last week, Bibb urged the community not to jump to conclusions about the stop-and-search data. He also said residents want police to enforce traffic laws. “We were doing safety walks all summer. Traffic enforcement was one of the biggest topics that came up,” he said in response to a question about street takeovers. “But at the end of the day, we also have a moral responsibility and a constitutional responsibility to enact constitutionally appropriate policing.” The mayor didn’t give specifics on what that balance entails. A few hours later, Chief Dorothy Todd offered an example on the extreme side. She told City Council members that people had sent her emails urging police to go in engines revving and guns at the ready. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and police leadership speak at a City Hall news conference about search and seizure data collected under the city’s consent decree. Credit: Nick Castele / Signal Cleveland“Some of those emails were, why didn’t the officers shoot the individuals? Why didn’t they ram their cars?” she said. “But that is not what constitutional policing is made up of.” Another move officers can’t take, according to the chief: boxing the stunt drivers in to prevent their escape. Todd told WTAM that such a tactic wouldn’t be constitutional.So what does Cleveland’s idea of a constitutionally appropriate approach to street takeovers look like? For one, police are trying to track down the people responsible in order to build a case against them, possibly with felony charges, Todd said. The city is also considering using large vehicles to block streets, preventing stunt drivers from reaching intersections. Then there are longer-term answers such as street milling – digging grooves into intersections that damage the tires of motorists trying to drift and do donuts. Council President Blaine Griffin: ‘Our citizens are irate’ Last week, Council President Blaine Griffin gave a nod to Cleveland’s improving crime stats. But he didn’t let the Bibb administration off the hook, either. “I’m happy that homicide is down. I’m happy that some of the other statistics are down because quite frankly they’re down across the country,” he said at the council committee hearing last Wednesday. “But what are we doing with some of these nuisance crimes?”The council president said he has heard from residents and business owners threatening to pack up and leave town. He warned that next time frustrated bystanders might try to take matters into their own hands, making the situation even worse. Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin speak at an early voting rally near the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Credit: Nick Castele / Signal Cleveland“I understand and I support completely constitutional policing,” he said. “However, our citizens are irate.” Council this week introduced legislation aimed at street takeovers. One part of the measure would give police new grounds to seize car parts used in stunt driving. Years ago, Griffin supported a more collaborative approach for dirt bikers – another group of stunt riders who aroused the ire of some residents and politicians. As former Mayor Frank Jackson’s community relations board director, he defended the administration’s pitch to give dirt bike riders a safe outlet with a park of their own. The idea never became reality.Griffin told Signal Cleveland that he sees a difference between the two.“Even though both of them were meant to intentionally disrupt, the street takeovers are – they’re bringing in people that have a total disregard for our city,” he said, “whereas the people that are riding those motorbikes were like Sunday funday.”An issue for the 2025 mayor’s race?Street takeovers could become a political issue for Bibb as he seeks a second term next year. Griffin is seen as a potential mayoral challenger, though the council president hasn’t said one way or the other whether he’ll run. Nina Turner has weighed in, too. The former state senator and City Council member hasn’t batted down rumors of a possible run against Bibb in 2025. After a takeover in mid-September, she posted on X: “Clevelanders deserve safe streets. This cannot happen.”Clevelanders deserve safe streets. This cannot happen. https://t.co/ZYhE46qXdy— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) September 16, 2024Plenty of people are clamoring for Bibb to take action. But one Ohio City bartender who witnessed a takeover saw a certain futility in the cat-and-mouse game. Easton Pierson said police should supervise the takeovers to make sure no one gets hurt. However, if cops push the drivers out of one intersection, they’ll just go to another one, he said.“You break it up and say, ‘Hey you guys are being stupid, you guys are being reckless. Get out of here, go home.’ Yeah they’re going to get out here, but they’re going to go somewhere else anyway,” Pierson said, adding, “So what really can you do?” What can you do? For Bibb and City Hall, the question is more than rhetorical. Stephanie Casanova and Dakotah Kennedy contributed reporting.The post Cleveland street takeovers shake up Mayor Justin Bibb’s tightrope walk on police and crime appeared first on Signal Cleveland.First published by Signal Cleveland.