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Photo via Google Maps/Scott K
Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer Tuesday launched what they're calling "Chased," a four-episode podcast series that examines the scourge of police chases in East Cleveland.
Hosted by reporter Olivia Mitchell, the first episode features audio clips from a chase that occurred in March, 2021. At only six minutes in length, the audio story quickly recounts the details of the chase, which reached speeds of 70 miles per hour on city streets and ended when the driver, Andre Rogers, crashed in downtown Cleveland.
The episode also documents the language of one of the officers, including an expletive-laden tirade after he hit a speed bump.
The next episode, according to Mitchell, will discuss
the non-enforcement of the Tamia Chappman law in East Cleveland. Despite the infamous chase that resulted in the death of the 13-year-old Chappman and inspired the law that bears her name, police chases still occur nearly every day in East Cleveland. Almost half of them culminate in crashes and often result in injuries or death.
The podcast series is Cleveland.com's latest foray into audio storytelling. And while with only four brief episodes the ambitions may be somewhat modest, the dangers of frequent police chases in East Cleveland are worthy of ongoing exposure and a multi-pronged reporting approach.
Cleveland.com produced a written series on the chases in East Cleveland this fall. "Chased" is both a revisitation and an expansion on that material.
You can listen to the first episode at Cleveland.com.
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