Using information as their weapon, East Cleveland police officers walked the streets Tuesday evening, urging residents to save the city’s traffic cameras, and some of their jobs.
On November 8, East Cleveland residents can decide whether to get rid of the city’s red light and speed cameras.
Off-duty East Cleveland police officers went door-to-door through the city, informing residents about Issue 49. If the issue passes, East Cleveland’s traffic cameras would come down. Mayor Gary Norton, Jr. says that would eliminate the roughly one-million dollars in revenue they generate a year, forcing him to make huge cuts to safety forces.
“An informed voter is our police department’s best friend. If the residents of East Cleveland know what’s at stake, they will certainly vote with their conscious and we believe that they will vote to keep the security that we have in East Cleveland,” said Mayor Norton.
“We’ll lose 44 percent of the police, 50 percent of the paramedics, 31 of the firefighters and then 44 percent of the service workers,” explained Officer Brandon Tisdale, as he spoke to residents.
“I’ve gotten a few tickets myself and I don’t like it, but I understand it and I am gonna vote to keep them there,” said East Cleveland resident Eve Westbrooks.
Resident Inez Bottoson even hit the streets with some of the officers to help spread their message.
“I’m gonna vote to keep those because that’s for safety, ’cause I got hit by a driver like nine years ago, and if it had of been a camera, it would have caught him speeding, speeding through the red light,” Bottoson said.
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article courtesy of Fox8Cleveland.com
