Part of Cuyahoga County’s policing strategy for July 4th involved boosting the number of officers—10 new deputies took the oath this week. County Executive Ed FitzGerald swore them in.
“I…state your name…do solemnly swear…that I will support the constitution and laws...of the United States of America…” FitzGerald read, as the deputies repeated the oath.
The new man-power will be teamed with a bit of hardware for the long-weekend. This includes a high-tech patrol boat, a K-9 unit, and bike patrols.
Fitzgerald says it’s a federal, as well as county government responsibility, to make sure waters from Cleveland to Canada are secure and safe. He expects law enforcement to be busy during the holiday weekend.
“On any given day, there’s hundreds if not thousands of boats on Lake Erie, and we’ve seen that traffic continue to increase in recent years.”
Cuyahoga County law enforcement won’t be alone. The Ninth Coast Guard District says last year, patrol crews responded to three dozen boating incidents on the Great Lakes.
Coast Guard spokesman Christopher Yaw says boaters are advised to tell people their destination and timeline, to help rescue efforts. He also says the Coast Guard is encouraging travelers to invest in personal locator beacons:
“And what they do is send a satellite signal, and our helicopters and our boats also have a beacon that can pick this up, and we can pinpoint you within three feet of where you’re at. It takes the “search” out of “search and rescue”.”
There will be patrols on land, of course, too…Cleveland police say they’ll be patrolling local metro parks to make sure there’s no disorderly or dangerous conduct.