A Ravenna City Council member says the Portage County Sheriff's office is releasing people from the jail and dropping them off in the city's downtown at all times of day and night raising concerns for their safety and frustrating business owners and upsetting residents.
Deputies have been dropping off people in downtown Ravenna for years, but the problem has recently gotten worse, said Amy Michael, a Ravenna City Council member-at-large.
"What spoke to me the loudest was this lady that had to undress scarecrows that our community put on, and she had to use their clothes to keep herself warm,” said Michael.
City police recently released body camera video that shows officers confronting a woman they say took clothing from scarecrows downtown. The woman told police she was trying to find clothing to stay warm after sheriff's deputies dropped her off the night before, according to WKYC.
Many of the people dropped off have no place to go, Michael said.
“Left out here with nothing, people that either are mentally unstable or handicapped or senior citizens or people with, you know, very little clothing," she said.
The Portage County Jail is about three miles from downtown Ravenna.
Michael requested that the county sheriff alert Ravenna police when people are being dropped off to coordinate with nonprofit organizations that can provide assistance.
Micheal said one of the people responsible is Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican currently running for re-election.
“We were assured that this was going to be looked at, and he was going to address this,” Michael said. “Here we are four years later, and it's getting much worse.”
Portage County Sheriff’s deputies were removed from providing security at county polls this election season after Zuchowski made a post on Facebook suggesting residents write down the addresses of those with Vice President Kamala Harris yard signs as places to send undocumented immigrants. It garnered national attention. Zuchowski is also facing allegations he used jail inmates to do work for his re-election campaign.
Michael's council seat is nonpartisan, but she told Ideastream Public Media she has values aligned with Democrats. Michaels said her concerns regarding the dropoffs in Ravenna are not politically motivated.
“I am a voice for my residents, and I am going to speak for my businesses that have come to me and expressed frustration after frustration and residents who have called me and have watched this,” she said. “They are very upset. And I'm not going to be quiet because of election time.”
Ideastream Public Media reached out to Zuchowski seeking comment but did not immediately hear back.
