CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council hosted a safety roundtable on Thursday afternoon that featured guests from the United States Marshals.
3News live-streamed the roundtable, which can be watched below inside this story.
"Our purpose of being here today is because we know we have a violent crime epidemic in the city," said Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin.
During the event, Director of the United States Marshals Service Ronald Davis talked about their role in apprehending violent and federal offenders as well as how they address violent crime.
United States Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio Peter Elliott was also in attendance and spoke. Among the topics discussed included the local problem of car theft and gun violence in Cleveland and across Northeast Ohio.
"We are seeing especially in the Akron and Cleveland area, 14 and 15-year-old kids all the time doing carjackings and carrying guns. It is off the charts. It is very prevalent in the Akron area now and it is here. We are doing everything we can to work with adult parole and the Cleveland Police Department to go after these individuals quickly," said Eliott.
"As I go around the country and look at where we are facing the challenges of violent crime, it is not a new challenge and it is not unique to Cleveland. It is one that is impacting communities all over the country. It [crime] sometimes goes up, or down, but the better we understand why it goes up, the better we can respond to it," said Davis.
Among those in attendance at the roundtable included the following:
- Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fitzgibbon, Northern District of Ohio
- Regional Director Steve Vukmer, Ohio Adult Parole Authority
- Parole Supervisor Tyshawn Irby, Ohio Adult Parole Authority
- Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle Baeppler, Northern District of Ohio
- Judge Brendan J. Sheehan, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court
- Reverend CJ Matthews, Mount Sinai Friendship United
The meeting was held at Cleveland City Council. Many council members had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the issues of violent crime.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on Dec. 5, 2022.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The video at the top of the story previously aired on 3News on Jan. 18, 2023.