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Plain Dealer

Tenants say CMHA police violating rights

Pleas for protection conflict with claims of abuse, disrespect

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Angela D. Chatman
Plain Dealer Reporter

A rising tide of violence in some public housing estates has residents calling for more protection than the county housing authority's police can provide.

But amid their pleas for protection are residents' complaints that some of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority's officers are abusive and disrespectful.

Loretta Vaughn, president of the local advisory council at Woodhill Estates on Cleveland's East Side, said the CMHA police, who are separate from Cleveland police but have the same authority to make arrests and issue warrants, often violate residents' rights.

"They disrespect you. They threaten to get you put outdoors," she said. "We don't stand a chance because it's the police. And, they are half-wrong on the things that they are doing to the people."

Vaughn said in early July, police intimidated a Woodhill resident who was holding an outdoor party to celebrate his birthday because his music was too loud. They told him to turn off his music rather than turn it down. They threatened to cite him for disorderly conduct when he complained, she said.

CMHA provides the housing of last resort for many of Cuyahoga County's poor. But to live in public housing, residents sign a lease and comply with a long list of rules, from maintaining their units to not owning guns and not allowing visitors to conduct illegal activity.

Residents often fear eviction. If they violate the rules, they can be issued "notices to violators" - also called NTVs, or tickets - that count against them. Too many tickets can mean eviction.

Tickets also can lead to court charges and fines, prosecution and imprisonment in the case of illegal activity, such as disorderly conduct or drug sales.

Under the federal "one strike" rule, a housing authority must evict any resident taking part in drug activity or hosting someone who does, even if it is a family member or the tenant did not know about the activity.

Residents charge that some CMHA officers unnecessarily issue tickets; many complain that officers have issued them tickets for violations they did not commit.

Concerns about the tickets and charges of police abuse have reached such a pitch that a "Stop the Violence" meeting last week for residents of selected estates erupted into shouting and complaints about how some officers do their jobs.

More than 300 people packed the community room at the Carl B. Stokes Social Services mall. CMHA officials and leaders of the Progressive Action Council, the resident governing board, urged residents to help curb the violence and take back their estates.

Much of the violence - including shootings and a recent murder - has been at the Carver Park, Garden Valley, King-Kennedy, Lakeview, Outhwaite and Woodhill estates, said PAC President Lillian Davis.

CMHA officials and resident leaders say most of the perpetrators are visitors who do not live in public housing.

CMHA Police Chief Anthony Jackson and an authority spokeswoman could not be reached for more information Tuesday.

With 88 sworn officers, 50 security officers, 11 dispatchers and support staff, the department handled 32,000 calls for service in 2003 and received only 30 citizens' complaints against officers, Jackson said in an earlier interview. As of May, it had 13,000 calls and only 15 complaints, he said.

But residents had also aired these concerns at two PAC meetings this summer, both of which were attended by authority officials, commissioners or Police Department representatives.

Police officials and administrators have said they are reviewing the complaints. They counter that residents do not file official complaints with the CMHA Police Department when a dispute with an officer arises. Residents counter that they fear eviction.

He said the department investigates all complaints and tells residents whether they are valid.

CMHA police officials provided The Plain Dealer access to 18 complaint files for 2003 and 10 files for 2004 in the first half of September. In most of the closed cases, investigators concluded the complaints were not valid. Where they found cause, the officer was reprimanded.

Executive Director George Phillips made a surprise visit to last week's meeting, breaking the tension in the overheated room. He asked for more time to address residents' concerns. Some were not optimistic.

"We've got our problems and we do need a police department," said former public housing commissioner and long-time Carver Park resident Dwayne Browder, adding that some of those complaining have committed the violations. "Some of them are not a part of the solution."

Yet, he said, the officers need to understand the residents' plight.

Jackson, who left the meeting before it began, has defended his officers, although he has declined to discuss specific incidents.

"We're not purposely there to issue NTVs to anyone. We're there to answer calls for service," he said, in the earlier interview. The police handle everything from a person locked out of his or her unit to a homicide in progress, as well as lease violations.

Jackson said residents can request a hearing with housing service managers to challenge the tickets and get the charges dismissed. He also said his department conducts cultural sensitivity training every two years to teach officers how to avoid or resolve conflicts with residents.

That training has failed to sink in, according to the complaining residents.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

achatman@plaind.com, 216-999-4115
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.

http://www.cmha.net/cmhapolicedept/cmhapolicedept.html

i live in CMHA Housing and the police do a great job to protect us. These dope dealers run our homes and the Police are always trying to keep them away!

I don't believe for a second that "Big Al" is a CMHA resident. NOT A SECOND. It's fucking disgusting that you neo-cons impersonate poor people and spread lies about the conditions they live in.

If I'm wrong, Big Al, and you ARE a CMHA resident, please contact me at: mrossimc@yahoo.com. I'd be happy to interview your opinions. If I'm not wrong, and you are some troll discrediting legitimate complaints about CMHA, go fuck yourself. You should be ashamed.

Mike

Why woold I lie about the police. I have lived in CMHA for 6 yrs after a illenes that kept me from working. I live in a nice senior highrise bulding located in the Cedar Estates and and am on the LAC. I support the Police very much and will do anything to help them keep my building safe and others. You are too angry young man!!!!! Life is to short to hold all that hate. I will send you a email and I will invite you to a LAC Meeting so you can get the truth...

Still waiting for that e-mail.

Include your phone number and I'll call you same-day for an interview.

Still waiting for that e-mail.....

Mike

Why would I want to give my phone number. You are very disrepctful and I dont know where you get off even joining this discussion about public housing. I bet you have never haven even step foot into public housing to see the conditions we live in....(Some bad and others good) I dont need to prove anything to you. What makes you an expect where I live and have spent the past 6 years of my life. I have been dedicated to making my home a safer and better place for me and for the youngsters that dont have the choice to grow up in a safe neighborhood like you Mike. And guess what Mike...The CMHA Police are doing the same thing as me, making it a safer place for the good residents that dont have anywhere else to go. The drug dealers and users prey on many of us older people, making us feel intimidated to come out of our own homes, making us feel unsafe and bringing the community down. I would support anyone who is here to make it better, even if it means bringing in the National Gaurd. CMHA is private property, not a hang out spot for all the drug dealers and gang members.

If thats the type of activity you accept, post your address on this web site and I will give it to all of the drug dealers to stand in front of your house, sell drugs, harrass you, and make you and your family feel scared. I think you are one of those people that just see the word Police and your brain goes right into negative mode. Get out of that poor attitude, it is blinding you.

Here are some words right from Mike's mouth

I'm a traitor to the city of Cleveland. I see Cleveland saturated with poverty, discrimination and exploitation. On the west and east sides, neighborhoods are being gentrified, masked by public policy rhetoric from "our friends", the local media

http://www.cleveland.indymedia.org/print.php?id=6099

Mike stop being a traitor! Do something positive about all the negative things you protest about. Come into the low income housing areas and work with the residents, help the poor, start a food drive, teach some classes, educate the uneducated with knowledge that they can use to get out poverty.

I think Big Al is right, you dont have any room to talk about him or his life. You seem educated, with a college degree but all you can do is protest, protest, and protest. And I think you are protesting about something you have no idea about. I never has lived a life like Big Al in a poor drug infested area. But I drive through those areas and it is said to see humans living like that. And it is scary, like Big Al said.

Mike where did you grow up? What do you know about poverty or even better racism? Have you ever been a victim of racism? Probably not!!!!!!!

Prove to us Mike Ross! Prove to us why we should follow your lead! Is it because you have a sharp tounge? Tell us why we should give a shit about anything you say!

Your Friend
Average Joe the Troll

Big Al -
My anger, in case you forgot, was directed at you ONLY if you were lying and impersonating someone who lives in public housing. I'm sure you would agree that would be pretty scummy, and would deserve negative comments.

I then asked you to prove me wrong, and e-mail me the LAC meeting day/time/place OR your phone number, and I'd be happy to interview you regarding CMHA.

After saying you would e-mail me, as passionate as you are, I still haven't gotten anything. This suggests to me that you are, in fact, a liar. Anyone who would pretend to live in CMHA housing to discredit a Plain Dealer article which exposes concerns REAL residents have is disgusting.

And yes, I've been to public housing many times. I've had many friends who live there. Yet you're the first person I've heard of that was happy with it's conditions or CMHA.

Average Troll -
95% of the social justice work i do is not protesting. I currently do pretty much everything you accuse me of not doing. But you have no idea, and would rather make unrelated, ignorant personal attacks against me than discuss the topic of this article, i.e. CMHA.

By the way, thanx for linking to that speech; I almost forgot about it. You'd probably understand or appreciate it alot better if you knew what irony was.

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