Mayor's response to downtown fight .

I'll have the 911 calls up in a minute, but for starters, here's the mayor's statement released at 9:25 a.m.



Statement
Mayor Don Plusquellic
August 4, 2009

On Saturday evening, August 1, at approximately 10:50pm, I met friends at the Bricco Restaurant on South Main Street. Earlier that evening, I welcomed audiences at our Ballet Summer Festival at Glendale Cemetery, and at the 9:00pm concert at Lock 3.
I exited the restaurant shortly after 2:00am, and walked north on Main toward the place where I had parked my car.
A friend who had been in Bricco came outside to continue our discussions for several minutes. Suddenly, I heard a commotion going on around the corner at Main and Exchange. Someone was yelling “fight.” I immediately walked in that direction to see if I could help. A large crowd of people came rushing past me, and continued around the corner where they proceeded to carry on a fight that apparently broke-out on Exchange Street.
I attempted twice to call 9-1-1 when the fight first started, but was placed on hold. Given all the people running around, and not being able to determine how to physically help, and believing I could have been hit while holding the phone, I hung up.
While I was blocked from seeing the faces of the combatants, I became aware that someone had been punched and was lying in the street. I witnessed a person kick the victim lying on the ground but was unable to see his face.
As people (combatants and witnesses alike) scattered, and police started to arrive on the scene, I called 9-1-1 at 2:38am for the third time, to get EMS to the scene. I was advised that they had already been called, and I informed the 9-1-1 center that I was concerned about having been put on hold earlier.
At 2:41am, I received a call from the 9-1-1 center asking if I had called in. I told them that I had called-in, and had received a recorded message, and was placed on hold. I asked to speak to the police sergeant on duty. As Safety Director of the City of Akron, I directed him to document the number of calls received in the 9-1-1 center about this incident, and to document what circumstances required calls to be placed on hold. I indicated to him that I would take-up the matter with Chief Craig Gilbride the following day.
This action - stated in tough terms in a stressful situation - was partially in reaction to the incident that had occurred June 27 in Firestone Park -the botched response to the several calls that went unreported for over three weeks following a terrible assault. Even our hard-working detectives couldn’t get accurate and timely information from the 9-1-1 center, which caused a very bad perception of the Akron Police Department.
The Firestone Park incident on June 27 had raised these concerns anew because detectives investigating the assault case after the fireworks, were first advised that there were no other calls, and later learned that there were multiple calls to the 9-1-1 center, some of whom had been placed on hold.
It was essential that this problem be documented so that solutions to this problem can be applied.
During the time that I was on Main Street early Sunday, I spoke to witnesses regarding what they had seen, and I continuously relayed to police officers what others had said to me about the start of the fight. I directed individuals who had seen the fight take place to make their statements to police officers. I did everything I could to help police get the information they needed, so that an arrest could be made.
The police officer who completed the written incident report listed me as an ancillary person to the investigation. The report form provides a box labeled speech, in which the officer wrote the word “slurred.” Recordings of my calls to the 9-1-1 center do not support this conclusion. The recordings are posted on the city’s website.
I have witnessed a number of fights before - as a coach present on basketball courts and baseball playing fields. I have been involved in breaking-up fights, including one on Main Street several years ago. The incident Sunday was much more horrific because of the injury to the victim. People at the scene who spoke to me believed that this was more than a few rowdy guys throwing punches. This is why we were motivated to help police as much as we could.
The truth however, was that from the arrival of the first officer on the scene - who displayed an attitude that drove most of the witnesses away - had I not remained at the scene and encouraged other witnesses to cooperate, the officers who later took the statements that are now being used by detectives, would not have been able to gather the information that led to the arrest of a responsible person, which occurred because of my insistence that they interview certain witnesses to the event.
The president of the FOP has chosen to attack me for getting involved. Anyone listening to the 9-1-1 tape recordings will agree that the story concocted by the FOP president is flatly wrong - for whatever political or personal reason he may have. We simply cannot afford to not have people involved to help police. Without my remaining on the scene, and insistence that witnesses also remain to be interviewed, we could have had yet another unsolved case.
I am never just an ordinary bystander when I am present at the scene of a safety emergency. The Charter of the City of Akron designates me as the Safety Director, and I am in charge of all police and fire matters. Because I was a practicing lawyer and former criminal prosecutor, I also know the importance of gathering information immediately. This was my only purpose Sunday morning - to direct the people who had approached me with valuable information because they knew who I was - to officers who could take down the details to secure an arrest, and hopefully a conviction of whoever was responsible for this horrible beating.
It is always my responsibility to ensure that the police department in all its facets - patrol officers, detectives, 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers - do their jobs properly, so that we never again have an unfortunate situation like the one that occurred in June in Firestone Park.

When Don Plusquellic says "Ellet" ...

An interesting thing happened at the Mayor's press conference today on the sewers-for-scholarships program .. but before I can tell you the story, here's a bit of insight into my 17+ years of covering Akron City Hall.

There are two unwritten laws when it comes to what Mayor Don Plusquellic tells the press:

A) Everything somehow comes back to water.

B) When Mayor Plusquellic says "Ellet", make sure your tape is recording.

If you've lived here long enough, you've heard the water stories. Whenever there's a financial squabble, DP will usually compare the debate to " ... now if you didn't pay your water bill, you get your water turned off ..." or something to that effect. The Cuyahoga River -- and Akron's ownership rights -- is another common theme. So you can see how our broadcast soundbites end up all wet.

Other reporters and even some members of the mayor's cabinet will back me up on this.

Second, when DP mentions the folks in Orangeman-ville ... it's usually because he's frustrated with them. Either they're not supporting an issue the mayor likes or someone in Southeast Akron has called a radio talk show and spoken out of turn in Don's eyes. The "Ellet bites" are often the best soundbites of the press conference because he's usually pretty wound up by that point.

(To be honest, the Mayor's praise and wrath seems equally spread across town, and he's praised Bob Otterman more times than I've driven on Route 91. Still, something happens when DP gets in front of a microphone .. and "Ellet" seems to be the community that's he mentions or attacks first.)

That's why I was nearly speechless when Plusquellic said this today:

"It's the hard working people, parents in Ellet, where the mother is a teacher, and the father is a fire fighter. Those are the people expected to spend all of the cost of a college education .. and they don't have 10 or 20 thousand dollars a year to pay out or shell out."

Did he really say Ellet in a positive manner? Wow!

I honestly came back to the office to replay the tape .. just to make sure I heard him right.

His point is well-placed and right on the money when it comes to our city. Wealthy Akron families have the funds to send their kids to college while some of the poorest will qualify for enough aid that they may not need the sewers $$.

It's the many families in the middle where both parents work and they struggle to make ends meet. The families that make too much money to qualify for reduced lunches, even though mom takes the bus to work because the family can only afford one car.

Those families are all over Ellet. And yeah, they're all over everywhere. All over town. North, East, South, West. Families all over Akron are struggling in that same way.

And those are families that are feeding their 529 savings plans and still know it won't be enough to get their kids to college. And they don't sleep well at night because of it.

And while the debate over Issue 8 is sure to play out from now until election day -- as it should with so much on the line -- the mayor's little slip of the tongue .. which some might even call his intentional play on words by saying "Ellet" ... I can tell you that the passion behind Plusquellic's drive here seems as high as I've ever seen it.

Plusquellic endorses Clinton

A Democratic SNAFU today that included published reports that Mayor Plusquellic had endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton for President -- reports that were later pulled back as premature speculation -- grew into an actual endorsement just a few minutes ago.

In an email sent to the media via City Communications Director Mark Williamson, Mayor Plusquellic writes:

"It had been my intention to announce my position with regard to this year's Ohio Presidential Primary at an event in Akron on Friday. Due to scheduling problems, this event will not be held. Today, a list of supporters released by Ohioans for Hillary that mistakenly included my name has added to confusion over my position.

"Tonight, I am joining with Governor Ted Strickland, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and other state leaders in endorsing
the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton for President of the United States. I believe that Senator Clinton is the best prepared candidate to lead our country."

Mayor Plusquellic had a press conference this morning yet didn't mention an endorsement ... so to see a story a few hours later claiming that he'd endorsed Clinton seemed a bit out of left field. Yet now .. rather than let any uncertainty fester, Plusquellic makes his intentions known.

The endorsement shouldn't be much of a surprise. Akron hosted several rallies for Bill Clinton during his Presidential run -- including the massive event at the Air Dock. President Clinton also visited Akron for the town hall meeting in the mid 1990's.

You can bet Plusquellic wasn't pleased to have his hand forced in this way by the confusion created by Ohioans For Hillary.