I heard from several sources that Cleveland's "leadership" issued a stand-down order for law enforcement during the weekend riot. Whether or not that is true, earlier today, Lou Dobbs reported on Fox Business that many cities under liberal leadership issued stand-down orders during the riots. Below is a letter by Cleveland businessman Tony George on the subject.
My family has lived in the Cleveland area for generations. We
are business people who provide more than 1600 jobs. We are invested in
Cleveland financially, emotionally and spiritually. That is why it is
heartbreaking to see the great damage done to our community by those who
hijacked a protest held in the name of justice and peace.
Dozens of downtown businesses, including ours, sustained
substantial damage during this past weekend’s riots. Those aren’t just
businesses, they are the dreams of people who believe in Cleveland, who put
life savings into enterprises to provide food, drink, music, baked goods,
groceries, clothing, and other products and services for the benefit of our
community.
We are Clevelanders. We support peaceful protest. We stand
for the equality of all people. We abhor race-based violence, no matter who
commits it. What makes Cleveland special is that people of every race, color
and creed want to live and work together. I look around and I see the looting
and the destruction to our downtown - - that is not who we are.
It is not enough to say that violence is happening
everywhere, in response to the killing of George Floyd. Someone has to take
responsibility for what happened, or didn’t happen in Cleveland. The city had
24-hour notice before the march. There was no preparation by city leaders to
establish a strict parade route, to block off commercial districts, to protect
against the infiltration of a peaceful march by those who came prepared to
commit violence. There was no call-up of off-duty police to provide additional
protection, in case things went out of control.
When the destruction and looting began it would appear that
police were told to stand down. We must have an explanation! Who is in charge
of Cleveland? Where were the elected leaders in this moment of crisis?
I have raised this question about our absent leadership
repeatedly. This failure of leadership is why I supported council reduction. I
reluctantly withdrew the issue from the ballot, in the hope that a renewed
effort toward unity would be a wake-up call. Nothing doing.
Cleveland City Hall leaders, especially the Mayor, continue
to be asleep at the switch, with devastating results for our city.
First Cleveland’s businesses had to shut down during the
height of the Covid-19 virus. Then, when we try to open back up, the riots
start and shut us down again. Add to that, the reduction in business, due to
the curfew.
This is a nightmare, which can end only when we have leaders
who can rise up to meet the moment.
A four-day curfew is not leadership. It’s a confession of an
inability to control lawlessness, or a capitulation to thugs. We don’t pay
taxes for the police to be ordered to stand down in the face of looting. We
don’t pay taxes to ensure the security of our streets, only to see the streets
taken over by gangsters.
Tony George
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