Drunk Driver Puts Car In Reverse At Red Light, Hits Officer’s Cruiser: Cleveland Heights Police Blotter

At 12:45 a.M. Jan. 26, an officer was parked in a lot when he saw a car approach that did not have its headlights activated. The officer drove behind the car and watched as it pulled into the middle of an intersection before stopping for a red light. The car then was put into reverse and, although the officer blew his car’s horn, the other car crashed into the front of the cruiser. A traffic stop was made. Two women were inside the car and said they had just come from a bar, but said they had not had anything to drink. The officer smelled the odor of alcohol on the driver. The driver went on to fail field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol content of .154, above the state minimum for drunk driving of .08. Police charged the woman with OVI, failure to stop at a red light, and driving under suspension. Disorderly conduct: Beechwood Avenue At 6:40 p.M. Jan. 25, police were called to a home where a woman told officers that her son, 22, had come to her home, began drinking alcohol, then argued with family members. Because of his behavior, the woman asked her son to leave. As he left, the man kicked and damaged the home’s front door. An officer found the man a short distance away, walking in the street. The man smelled of alcohol and yelled profanities as he was arrested. An open container of alcohol was found in his pocket. Police charged the man with disorderly conduct-intoxication and having an open container, and cited him for walking in the roadway. It was additionally found that the man was wanted on a Cleveland police warrant. The man refused to cooperate with Cleveland Heights police during the booking process and was soon, thereafter, turned over to Cleveland police. Warrant arrest: Edgehill Road At 7:15 p.M. Jan. 23, a boy called police about being the victim of violence at his home. At the home, police spoke with the boy’s mother, who said her son had come home late from school and that she had asked him why. The woman said her son talked back to her in a disrespectful manner and tried to walk away. The woman said she held the boy’s jacket so he could not walk away. The boy then began to try to hit his mother, so she let go of his jacket and the boy went upstairs to call police. The boy showed police his bloody lip and said his mother “smashed his face into the ground.” Police questioned the boy’s account, and two witnesses did not corroborate his story about his mother causing the injury. As officers spoke to family members, it was learned that the mother was wanted by Cleveland Heights police on a warrant for fines owed. The boy was left in the custody of his older sister and the mother was arrested on the warrant. Police notified Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services about the incident. Warrant arrest: Vineshire Road At 2:55 a.M. Jan. 26, a frightened boy, 13, called police after hearing his mother and her boyfriend engaged in a heated argument. Officers arrived to find the boy crying. As police were speaking with the boy, his mother came down from the home’s second floor, followed by her boyfriend. The boyfriend was in an agitated state. Both the man and woman said they had been arguing, but that nothing physical had transpired. A check of the boyfriend’s record revealed that he was wanted on a Beachwood warrant for failure to appear in court to answer to a traffic offense, and by Highland Hills police for the same offense. Police arrested the man and arranged for the boy’s father to pick him up for the night. Assault: Lee Road At 9:40 a.M. Jan. 27, an employee of Zagara’s market, 1940 Lee Road, flagged down an officer. The man said he had been assaulted moments earlier by a man who was asking people for money at Zagara’s. When the employee told the suspect to leave or he would call police, the suspect responded, “Get out of my face or I’ll punch you.” The employee again asked the man to leave, and the suspect punched the employee in the face, then ran. Another employee confirmed the first employee’s story. Police were initially unable to locate the suspect. Two days later, at 11 a.M., however, an officer spotted a man matching the description of the suspect at Yorkshire and Lee roads. That suspect was later positively identified by the victim. Police arrested the suspect, 31, and charged him with assault. Warrant arrest: Superior Road At 7:05 p.M. Jan. 27, police were called to an apartment building on a report that approximately five male suspects -- occupants of two different units -- were fighting. As officers arrived, they encountered a man with a swollen eye and bloody mouth and nose standing in front of the building. The man said he had been involved in a fight and that his friend had punched him in the face. He said he did not want to pursue charges against his friend. Police asked the man his name, but he would not provide it or his date of birth. The man did tell police his Social Security number, but after he did so, he ran. After a foot chase, police apprehended the man in a ravine north of Monticello Boulevard. It was learned that the man was wanted on a Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office warrant for assault on a police officer. After being taken to the hospital for treatment of his asthma, police charged the man with obstructing official business, then turned him over to the county on the warrant.