The city’s curfew and its attendant zones are reminiscent of mid-century authoritarian regimes. Militarized police, in armored vehicles and riot gear, are patrolling them to protect Cleveland’s businesses … er, keep its residents safe!!!, which safety tactics reportedly have included demands that pet owners make their dogs poop inside.
Mayor Frank Jackson and Chief Calvin Williams, in a staticky Facebook Live video conference Sunday night, asserted that they would do whatever they had to do to ensure that no more harm/damage would come to the city’s residents and businesses after acts of vandalism Saturday night.
To that end, the curfew is now, unbelievably, in effect until Tuesday at 8 p.m. It’s less a curfew in the conventional sense, i.e. one that begins at a certain discrete nighttime point, than it is a continuous lockdown reality. Jackson said he’d have no bones about extending it further and farther (geographically), if he deemed it necessary.
The impression was that Jackson and Williams believed there to be roving bands of out-of-state ne’er-do-wells hellbent on destroying the local economy vis-a-vis its windows. It was a paranoid press conference, exacerbated by the audio quality, and featured both Jackson and Williams doubling down on the supposed narrative that the altercation with officers on the steps of the Justice Center Saturday was initiated by outside agitators who’d hidden within the throngs of peaceful local protesters, and that the police’s response to demonstrators was nobly by-the-book, all things considered.
In one head-spinning quotable, Jackson said that the Cleveland police had done nothing to antagonize the demonstrators on the steps of the Justice Center.
“You have somebody throw urine at you. Spit at you. Hit you with a brick or a bottle, and you don’t respond?” Jackson said, answering a question about the officers’ conduct. “They conducted themselves professionally, and they conducted themselves in a way that we would like them to conduct themselves. They showed great [restraint.] Did they do anything to any of [the protesters] to cause them to behave that way? No.”
One might consult the protester who had his eyeball dislodged by a rubber bullet, or the one who suffered a shrapnel wound from a detonated flash grenade, or the countless others who were dousing their faces in milk to keep the pepper spray burns at bay, to see whether they agreed with this assessment of the police officers’ dignity and restraint.
In any case, the big news item before the presser was that the city’s new curfew zones would not exempt the media. A widely circulated Tweet earlier Sunday evening included an ominous warning from Cleveland Police which seemed to suggest that reporters wouldn’t be permitted to do any reporting outdoors, a flagrant violation of the First Amendment.
How media members were supposed to get to and from their places of business went unanswered. But no matter. Jackson said this was nonsense at the press conference, saying that “credentialed reporters” would be permitted in the curfew zones to report on whatever they pleased. “We have not disallowed that in the past,” Jackson said. “And we’re not going to disallow that going forward.”Reporters would find, he said, that Cleveland Police had done an excellent job keeping Cleveland safe. An update from the city assured residents that “the downtown area has remained quiet and peaceful,” thanks to the imposition of the curfew. You don’t say! Who doesn’t love to enjoy the quiet and peace of the city’s central business district from the comfort of one’s poop-stained apartment and *only* from the comfort of one’s poop-stained apartment on pain of arrest?
In a follow-up question, Jackson said he was not concerned about a potential court challenge to the curfew zones.
“I’m concerned about the safety of the people of the city of Cleveland and not having our business properties destroyed or private properties destroyed,” he said. “The things that we have done have pretty much put an end to that so far. What we have done we had to do to ensure the health and safety of this city. And that is what we will continue to do.”
Jackson should be concerned about a court challenge. The ACLU has already indicated that the city has no authority to restrict the rights and access of the press. But the First Amendment, in addition to protecting the freedom of the press, also protects the freedom of assembly. And forbidding Clevelanders from gathering in huge swaths of the city, or existing outdoors at all, on vague grounds related to the preservation of private property, is unconstitutional by definition.
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This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2020.
Sammilah, the right-wing cockroaches who infest this site, and who are now crawling out of the woodwork in bigger numbers than ever since Saturday’s tizzy, are going to eat you alive after this one.
Harry Truman was famous for writing angry, histrionic letters, and then sticking them into a desk drawer and leaving them there forever. You shoulda re-thought this, re-read this, and then hit the delete key.
Man, oh man… are you gonna get a major can of whup-ass dumped on your cabeza by the usual suspects…the haters, the bitchers, and all the other idiots who can’t stop themselves from coming here.
Good night, Sam…and good luck. You’re gonna need it. Toodles!
Allz you gotz to do now is become a reporter instead of a Communist dick sucking Nancy Boy Sam.
Citizens ought to be protesting for the immediate removal of Taxin Jackson, along with cohort thief Budish out of office immediately!!!
It’s evident both of these crooks are completely and utterly incompetent at doing anything to better our city and county besides raising taxes on us workers and property owners!!!
I realize that Sam Allard had to write about something, but writing an article that criticized the Democratic mayor of Cleveland’s curfew zones as a way to prevent more destructive rioting in Cleveland by Democrats and other individuals from the left seems strange to me.
I suppose it is more hip to him to side with the violent protesters than the Democratic officials than run Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, which includes the Democratic mayor, the Democratic County Executive, the Democratic Chief of Police, and the Democratic Sheriff.
I suggest Sam Allard consider why Democrats voters have turned against their Democratic leaders because of their belief that Democratic leaders aren’t doing a satisfactory job of protecting them from the police, which are under the dominion and control of Democratic public officials.
FYI, I’m a moderate political independent, not Democrat or Republican.
I believe in Aristotle’s Principle of the Golden Mean, which advocates avoiding extremes.
And just how is our plethora of local ALL-Democrat leadership been doing?
Pretty pathetic if you ask me!
Sam allard is a liar. The mob targeted the justice center and stormed the building to occupy the police while small groups went out burning, smashing, and vandalizing. Blaming this on the local police is disingenuous since this tactic was used in 40 other cities that weekend.
Again, here we are. Sam blaming everyone else. Your mad there is a curfew? Would you rather see more store fronts and more of our city destroyed? would you of rather them not brought in National Gaurd to protect Cleveland and west 25th? Would you of rather had the riots continue and destroy West Side Market, or Steelyard, or what?
Such a piece of shit
L4E: Sam didn’t smash or trash. So easy to finger-point.
You and the rest of your yuppie gentrifier pals are the real pices of shit.
Fuck off.
Sam, you starting to get a little nervous with all these folks that suddenly want to see you in dutch?
City Boy – I’m a peice of shit because I am upset that my/our city was destroyed on Saturday by violent rioters? I am a piece of shit because the next day the cops tried to correct what they did on Saturday by letting rioters run loose? I am a piece of shit because I appreciate the fact that there was/is a curfew so we can stop these riots?
You are messed up man. Just something new for the rest of you liberals to bitch about. FYI – this whole city is run by democrats. just an fyi. You and everyone that likes this publication loves your Dems. Well look what it got you. And another FYI – almost all of the rioted cities, RUN BY DEMOCRATS…. But im the asshole.
Poor Sam still doesn’t realize that he is one of those “useful idiots.”
There are some videos out there of Sam Allard and Vince Grzegorek smashing windows and participating in at least one of the car burnings.
Pix or it didn’t happen. You are a lying sack of shit. Put up or shut up.
“now openly referred to as “riots” by the Chief of Police”
And, what do refer to them as? Measured and reasonable courses of action? Idiot.