I-Team: Fireworks lit at street takeovers — where were police?
So, we investigated the response by Cleveland police.
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A crowd shut down traffic on Miles Avenue, took over a busy park and even terrorized bus drivers.
Video obtained by the I-Team shows a crowd gathered to watch fireworks going off in the street near East 110th Street and Miles Avenue.
People blocked the streets, and that included using dumpsters and tents.
It went on with no police in sight, yet the trouble had started hours earlier at a neighborhood park.
A report shows a call for '200+' people in the park drinking and setting off fireworks.
A caller also told police parents had to leave the splash pad area and the park because of this.
One man on the block told us, 'It was ridiculous. The Fourth of July, it was terrible.'
Police radio traffic shows an officer saying, '108 and Miles. It's gridlock going eastbound.'
A dispatcher said, 'Supposedly, about 200 people out here, blocking streets off, jumping on RTA buses.'
In fact, a police report shows a 'large group of people jumping on RTA buses' as they tried to get through.
That report shows the neighborhood's desperation in calling police for help. One caller was an elderly female home alone.
Dispatchers notified police supervisors about trouble there as early as 9:17 p.m. The scene wasn't cleared until close to midnight.
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We asked Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd, 'How could no Cleveland police officer be available to go there for hours?'
She responded, 'We can't have one zone car respond to address a crowd of 500-plus people. We had to make sure there was a plan to get several officers on site.'
We also asked how big crowds go unnoticed by police until trouble starts. We've also also seen it in other cases. We asked, 'How is it that no police officer ever sees these large crowds of people?'
The chief said, 'On a night like this, you're responding from call to call, to call, to call. You don't have an opportunity to just patrol your sectors, patrol your zone.'
On Miles Avenue, the problem grew to a holiday takeover.
The chief said two officers were hurt clearing that crowd. Records show at least one person was arrested.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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