CLEVELAND — Earlier this week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that state resources were being deployed to enact a "surge initiative" in an effort to help fight violent crime in Cleveland.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP), the results of an early operation in the surge were successful.
The OSHP collaborated with the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, the Ohio Investigative Unit, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Ohio Department of Youth Services in a two-day initiative with the Cleveland Division of Police and other local and federal agencies this week.
The focus of the initiative was the city's 4th District. You can see the map of the area below.
The two-day initiative was held on August 15-16 and resulted in 52 felony arrests, the seizure of 16 illegally possessed firearms, and recovery of 12 stolen vehicles. Troopers, agents, and officers also seized varying amounts of cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy, in addition to illegally-possessed prescription pills.
The OSHP provided a look at the initiative in action on Thursday with video of authorities using a helicopter to recover a stolen vehicle. Ohio Investigative Unit agents observed a suspicious vehicle -- a silver Kia Sportage with busted-out windows -- believed to possibly be stolen. Officers called the vehicle out to its aviation section for observation and the vehicle was seen running a stop sign at Abell Avenue near East 135th.
After troopers in a marked patrol car attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle fled. Troopers on the ground did not pursue, with the helicopter staying with the vehicle and observing the driver and passenger ditch the car and flee on foot.
The officer in the helicopter directed troopers and officers on the ground to where the suspects were last seen. When units arrived, the pair was taken into custody without additional incident.
The Cleveland Division of Police dispatch was able to contact the registered owner of the vehicle, who said she had just reported the vehicle stolen that morning. The driver of the stolen vehicle is now facing charges of receiving stolen property, a felony offense, as well as criminal damaging and fleeing.
The OSHP says this week’s "targeted saturation event" is the first of several in Cleveland that the state will participate in at the direction of DeWine.
3News' Ben Axelrod contributed to this report