Crimewood: Quality of Life Issues in Lakewood, Ohio

The only police report publicly available regarding the Matthew Hockey incident deals with facts surrounding the discovery of his body. It doesn’t shed any light on the assault that presumably precipitated his demise. Those details will emerge during the trial.

Similarly, there aren’t many new facts available through the police department regarding the fatal car accident at Alameda and Madison.  The LPD cannot provide certain information when they have an active investigation underway. They did provide a traffic crash report. The report, along with a handful of other police reports will be posted in the next couple of days.

The April 7, 2008 Lakewood City Council meeting lasted 55 minutes. 9 people and 51 empty chairs were in attendance. Council had the third and final reading of a number of bond and finance-related ordinances. They also approved the liquor license applications for Sapells and Europe Mart.

Mayor Edward FitzGerald asked Council to approve a health services agreement with the county for nearly $204,000. Dottie Buckon, Director of Human Services, said there was some urgency to access the funds because she lost her last nurse on Friday. Council approved the request unanimously.

Director of Finance Jennifer Pae asked Council to suspend longevity payments to non-collective bargaining city employees due to current fiscal challenges. Council approved the request unanimously. It was not made clear how much money it will save the city.

Director of Planning and Development Nathan Kelly asked council to consider a resolution to renew Lakewood’s involvement with the county and HUD and continue funding the HOME Program. Councilperson Thomas Bullock wondered if the income requirements to participate in the program were set too low. Bullock’s concern was that families are able to buy a home which they can not afford to maintain. Kelly said that the income levels were federally mandated, and Lakewood had no say in the matter.

Councilperson Kevin Butler asked if there was an oversight function to the program to determine how many families maintained ownership for the required time period. Kelly said ownership maintenance was at about 98%. Kelly mentioned the fund had a balance because not enough families were participating. He said he would provide Council with a report outlining the activities and status of the HOME Program.

Acting Public Works Director Howard Strong asked Council to approve an emergency ordinance to accept a $3,390 grant from the county for a recycling awareness program aimed at middle schools. Council approved it unanimously.

Clifton apartment dweller Edward McCartney used the Public Comment period to compliment council for their acts of humility and candidness.

I just caught this on YouTube. Don’t know who shot it. The driver has been arrested. One child is dead.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nv59RHwEgBw

From Cleveland.com:

Lakewood — A 1-year-old girl died Saturday night and two other children were injured after being struck by a tree knocked over by a truck.

The toddler was identified as Jaylah Tate of Cleveland, according to the Cuyahoga County Coroners Office.

She arrived at Lakewood Hospital around 7:20 p.m. with head injuries.

The two other children, ages 5 and 15 whose names and conditions were not available were taken to hospitals.Police arrested the 38-year-old driver, a Cleveland man who name was not released, at the scene near the intersection of Madison and Alameda avenues.

Charges will be filed, according to a news release issued by Lakewood police.

The accident occurred around 7 p.m.

Here’s a little more from the person who posted the YouTube video:

Source: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/showthread.php?t=56461

Just shy of 7pm I heard a weird crash outside my window and got up to investigate, thinking car crash. The more I found out, the worse it got. There were two huge tree branches down in the street, and two kids lying motionless on the sidewalk, with a few people hovering around them.It took me a while to put it together, but a pick-up truck ran up on the sidewalk, sheared off two trees about eight inches in diameter and hit two kids. I think one of the trees hit and badly injured an adult farther down the sidewalk, then the guy might have struck another child on a bike before skidding to a halt over 50 meters beyond the original impact. This all happened on a sometimes busy, 35mph street, though no other cars seem to have been on that stretch of road at the time.

Initially I thought the trees in the road were branches from one of the very large trees in a yard across the road, and that they’d fallen on the kids (I only saw the two most visible kids). Later my roommate came out and pointed out how they were trees sheared off by a vehicle, and I looked around some more and saw the truck, the skidmarks, and the adult victim. I’m still not sure whether there was a third child on the bike (bystanders told me so later) or the bike parts I saw were dragged farther down the road by the truck. I thought the police must have been pursuing the guy, because even as I was dialing 9-1-1, a police car of some kind (different coloration than the local cops) pulled up to the curb where the kids were, but then I went downstairs and a good forty minutes after the incident the cops were just giving the guy a sobriety test.

And oddly enough, it occured to me on the train platform today, “If some kind of violent incident broke out, would I dial 9-1-1 or would I film it?” Later the same day, I ended up doing both.

There were several patrol cars involved in the incident. Only the footage from the lead car was immediately available. The video did not include much audio, so I added a bit of a whimsical soundtrack. I do not mean to diminish the seriousness of the situation. This kind of an event is incredibly dangerous. Excellent police work on the part of the LPD in recognizing the suspect and aggressively seizing the initiative to bring about a relatively peaceful resolution.

I expect to be able to post some new police reports early in the coming week, including the one outlining the circumstances of Matthew Hockey’s death.