Finkbeiner proposes 10-point plan to curb violent crime in Toledo

Jul. 20—Toledo mayoral candidate Carty Finkbeiner announced a 10-point plan to reduce violent crime on Monday after four people were killed over the weekend, bringing the city's homicide total to 37 for the year.

"I've lived in Toledo my entire life. I do not think there has ever been a time in that period that violence and fear have ever been so significant as they are today," Mr. Finkbeiner said outside of the downtown Safety Building.

Early Saturday, an 18-year-old man was stabbed to death in South Toledo.

Then, just after midnight Sunday, a 28-year-old man was shot and killed downtown, according to Toledo police.

Hours later, one woman was shot and killed and three people were shot and injured at an after-hours club on the edge of West and North Toledo.

Then, in the early hours of Monday, law enforcement shot and killed a suspect after a car chase that began in Michigan.

Mr. Finkbeiner, a Democrat, on Friday filed petitions with the Lucas County Board of Elections to appear on the September primary election ballot against the endorsed Democratic incumbent Wade Kapszukiewicz and Republican candidate Jan Scotland.

Mr. Scotland said he intends to hold a news conference in the coming weeks to announce more details of his strategy to reduce gun violence in Toledo's neighborhoods, as well.

Monday marked the first news conference of this year's mayoral race, and Mr. Finkbeiner said fighting violence and crime in Toledo is a top priority of his campaign.

He's calling his initiative the Protect Our Citizens Plan and said it needs to be implemented "in its entirety" to restore safety in the city.

The key points include restoring the city's curfew ordinance; increasing partnerships between Toledo police, Lucas County Sheriff's deputies, Ohio's state patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; passing anti-gun legislation, including banning "Saturday Night Special" handguns; restoring a gun buy-back program, and hiring young people to clean up and beautify the city.

He also wants to double or triple the amount of reward money offered for Crime Stopper tips; strengthen neighborhood block watch groups; install drop-boxes at each fire station where people can log public safety concerns; work with local judges to keep serious offenders off the streets, and support Toledo police initiatives.

Mr. Finkbeiner said he wants to double or triple the number of officers patrolling the city's most crime-prone neighborhoods, and he believes officers should work to identify after-hours clubs and add them as stops on their patrols.

He also said city leaders should be looking to use some of the $180.9 million in federal stimulus money to take a multi-pronged approach to reducing violence and increasing safety.

"Look what we've done for a golf tournament. Look at the amount of money spent on repaving Summit Street and Dorr Street — millions of dollars," Mr. Finkbeiner said, referring to the upcoming Solheim Cup. "We can spare millions of dollars to get a safer Toledo for the citizens who the other 51 weeks a year live in and are proud to call Toledo their home."

In a statement following the news conference, Mayor Kapszukiewicz's re-election campaign accused Mr. Finkbeiner of laying off nearly 100 police officers and eliminating the gang task force during his last term as mayor.

It later sent out a correction that said Mr. Finkbeiner had only proposed eliminating the task force.

He laid off 75 police officers in 2009 amid a city budget crisis.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz's re-election campaign called Mr. Finkbeiner a bad leader.

"The fact is this: During tough budget times, Carty went right to police layoffs to solve his problem. He made the city worse because he wasn't up to the task," the statement said. "Mayor Wade inherited budget challenges, too, and also faced the recession brought about by COVID, and yet he's been able to grow the police force and balance the city's budget."

When Mr. Kapszukiewicz was first campaigning for mayor in 2017, he promised to add 40 police officers a year, which would bring a net increase of 60 to the force after retirements.

He anticipates the department growing to at least 625 officers by Jan. 1, about 40 shy of his goal.

The mayor has created a new initiative to reduce gun violence and hired Toledo native JoJuan Armour to manage the program.

He's working to bring on "violence interrupters," people with strong relationships in those neighborhoods who can help de-escalate potential violence and act as liaisons.

Mr. Armour has also held community town hall meetings to discuss the violence and shootings that plague the city.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz also formed a Community-Police Relations and Reform Committee, and he unveiled a range of free or low-cost summer programs for Toledo's youth, in part to keep them away from criminal or dangerous situations.

When Mr. Scotland announced his candidacy in June, he said he believes part of Toledo's violence problem is a lack of respect and support for the police, a lack of sports and activities for Toledo's youth, and a lack of economic opportunity. He said the right mayor needs a comprehensive program to address all three of those issues.

"If you don't understand what's going on that's causing the violence, then you shouldn't be mayor," Mr. Scotland said.

Toledo residents Tracy Smith, 54, and Trina Brown, 59, attended Mr. Finkbeiner's news conference.

They said something needs to be done to stop the city's violence.

It's been bad this summer, they said, but last summer was bad, too, as was the summer before that.

Ms. Smith lives in North Toledo and said she doesn't go out at night anymore, nor does she allow her grandkids to play near her windows after her house was shot up. She said city officials and police officers know where trouble spots are, but they aren't doing enough to address crime.

Ms. Brown lives in West Toledo and said she wants to see more programs geared toward keeping Toledo's youth out of trouble and on a path to success.

She said she supports Mr. Finkbeiner's ideas of increasing law enforcement's presence in neighborhoods, and re-instituting a gun buy-back program to get firearms off the streets.

"Where are these kids getting guns? Adults give them to them," she said.

Mr. Finkbeiner said he plans to deliver a letter to Toledo Police Chief George Kral urging him to enact his 10-part plan. Chief Kral has served as chief since January, 2015, when he was promoted by then-Mayor D. Michael Collins.

"I am very prepared to work with Chief Kral," Mr. Finkbeiner said. "...Going forward, we will certainly look at the results of what [was] being recommended here and how much was implemented, how it worked, and so forth. That's a few months down the road, and we'll cross that bridge at that time."

First Published July 19, 2021, 7:34pm