The sheriff’s office is built on trust, accountability, and leadership. The current Cuyahoga County Sheriff has undermined that trust, allowing a culture that allows recklessness over safety. His duty is to protect lives and preserve public confidence, yet his tenure has been marked by preventable deaths from careless vehicle pursuits.
The conclusion is clear: Top leadership should be replaced.
Blatant Disregard of Policy
Pursuit policies exist to safeguard life, requiring deputies to weigh risks carefully, obtain supervisor approval, and refrain from using the PIT maneuver above 45 mph. Deputies are to exercise common sense during chases, which should only occur when the threat posed by releasing a suspect outweighs the risks created by the chase itself. In the controversial Downtown Safety Patrol, however, deputies have repeatedly engaged in pursuits that defy these principles, chasing individuals for non-violent offenses in a manner that conflicts with policy.
The consequences speak for themselves. Innocent lives have been lost, families shattered, and communities left shaken in the aftermath. What makes these deaths especially tragic is that they were preventable. Policies exist that should have stopped such behavior, but in a culture where rules are not adhered to, policy becomes little more than words on paper.
The result? Two pursuits by the same deputy, just five months apart, resulted in the loss of two innocent lives.
The Toxic Culture
These violations reflect a deeper, toxic culture. Deputies appear to view policy as a nuisance rather than a framework for sound decision-making. Prohibited actions are routinely repeated, and reckless behavior is seen by deputies as initiative. Such a culture does not emerge by chance; it reflects the tone set by the sheriff.
The mindset is evident in body-worn camera footage I recently reviewed of a deputy after a high-speed PIT maneuver initiated without supervisory authorization that flipped a suspect’s car into a pole:
“Good day, bro! We got the dudes. We got the car. We didn’t shoot anybody. Perfect.”
This cavalier celebration of a dangerous and prohibited maneuver reveals a culture that prioritizes bravado over rules and professionalism.
Notably, the sheriff has access to the same video but has chosen to remain silent regarding the clear policy violations. This silence speaks volumes about what, if any, actions were taken to prevent a repeat of the first fatal vehicle pursuit.
The conduct is predictable considering the deputies involved. The same deputy captured on video boasting had previously damaged a police vehicle during horseplay in training with a prior department and failed to report it to his superiors—an early warning of poor integrity.
More concerning, the deputy responsible for the two deadly pursuits of minor traffic offenders that killed two innocent bystanders was known to have lied during his sheriff’s hiring process. Both deputies, despite proven lapses in integrity, have been allowed to remain in the department and continue making critical decisions that impact the lives of innocent people.
The Case for New Leadership
Current leadership has failed to enforce critical safeguards, tolerated deputies who disregard training, and fostered a culture that treats preventable tragedies as acceptable risks. His handling of these critical issues reveals significant lapses in judgment—failures that undermine the competence and accountability essential for effective leadership. For the safety of Cuyahoga County residents and the integrity of law enforcement, the current Sheriff must be replaced. Only with new leadership can policy be enforced, culture be reformed, and public trust be restored.
In my book, On Thin Ice, I explore this very issue. We need smart pursuit policies that weigh the full cost of action and inaction. We need leadership willing to say, “Not today,” when the risks outweigh the benefits.
And we need more leaders within the profession willing to say: protocol is not enough. Not anymore.
On Thin Ice is now available!
