Matthew Richmond

Updated: 5:51 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2020 An appeals court decision in Butler County Monday throws Ohio's program for arming teachers into doubt. According to the decision in the lawsuit challenging Madison Township’s armed teacher policies, state law requires a school employee undergo the state’s peace officer training program or have experience working as a police officer to serve in a security role.

The ACLU of Ohio is collecting complaints from inmates in Ohio through a new hotline and the organization is already pressing the state to play more of a role overseeing county and municipal jails through the coronavirus outbreak.

Two days after firing first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens, the Cleveland Browns are also parting ways with the team's general manager. The team announced Tuesday that John Dorsey, who was hired in December 2017, is leaving the organization.

Cleveland is one of seven cities eligible for $71 million in law enforcement grants under a new federal program. U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced Operation Relentless Pursuit at a Wednesday press conference in Detroit. In addition to Cleveland and Detroit, eligible cities include Memphis, Baltimore, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Albuquerque.

The federal government is considering spending more on crime fighting task forces in Northeast Ohio, according to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

The group Ohioans for Gun Safety is making a push to get a popular gun control measure in front of voters. According to the group’s spokesman Dennis Willard, they’re focused on one issue: getting mandatory universal background checks passed in Ohio. Volunteers for the group spent Election Day at polling sites statewide, asking for signatures to put a new gun control law on the 2020 ballot.

Cleveland City Council on Monday unanimously approved legislation that will provide access to free legal help for low-income families facing eviction. The United Way of Greater Cleveland will lead the program, contracting with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland to provide services, according to the city. “United Way is going to serve as the lead partner,” said Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley. “We can work through their infrastructure. They can do the training of attorneys, they can do the back office, they can do the billing.”

Updated: 4:40 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25 Two Cuyahoga County corrections officers were found not guilty on three out of five charges in the alleged beating of an inmate at the county jail. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on two of the charges against John Wilson: felonious assault and interfering with civil rights.

Officials from Cuyahoga County’s Board of Health will be back out to beaches in Bay Village this week to check for hazards from an algae bloom. The algae at Columbia Park Beach and Bay Park Beach was found last week. Tests for the harmful bacteria caused by algae came back under the hazardous threshold, said Tom Fink from the board of health. An advisory was posted in the park at the end of Columbia Road and the public access was closed off by Bay Village officials.

Cleveland City Council is considering an ordinance that would remove fines and prohibit jail time for possession of marijuana offenses. The proposed ordinance wouldn’t decriminalize marijuana in Cleveland. And state laws against possession still exist. Under the proposal, marijuana possession would still be a criminal charge in Cleveland. Up to 100 grams would be a minor misdemeanor, between 100 and 200 grams a 4th degree misdemeanor. All fines and court costs would be suspended.