RAVENNA, Ohio — City officials in Ravenna are accusing the Portage County Sheriff's Office of randomly dropping off recently released inmates across random locations in the city.
One recent incident allegedly occurred downtown, with newly released body camera video showing city police officers confronting a female former inmate after they say she stole clothes off of the city's scarecrow Halloween decorations.
"Why are you destroying stuff out here, taking apart scarecrows?" one officer asks the woman.
Authorities determined that she was taking the clothes because she was cold.
"I was here all night," the woman said. She further claimed that the Portage County Sheriff's Office dropped her off in the area the night before the police encounter.
"It's really sad that the poor woman was taking clothes off of our scarecrows to keep warm," Ravenna resident Nancy Jones said.
A police officer said the woman would not be charged in the bodycam video, adding that he would take her back home to Akron.
"She has no phone, $2, and they told her they're dropping her off at the courthouse," the officer could be heard saying in the footage.
Ravenna Councilmember at-large Amy Michael tells 3News the city has attempted to coordinate the inmate drop-offs with the sheriff's office to avoid these situations, but the sheriff's office has not responded to those requests.
"This has been an ongoing practice for years, even before the current sheriff," Michael said, referring to the beginning of Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski's term in 2021. "But we were assured this would be solved,."
Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman and Michael say many of the would-be community resources for the former inmates are closed when they are dropped off at night.
"You're putting business owners at risk, people at risk, and these people at risk, because you're setting them up for failure before they even get out," Michael added.
Multiple Portage County Sheriff's Office officials did not respond to 3News' requests for comment.
"It’s disheartening, cruel, and inhumane," Michael said. "We have not seen any resolution or efforts to help the people that are being released."
Rodney Mack, director of area nonprofit Enough is Enough, also stated, "We have to have love and compassion and start moving with love and compassion."
According to Michael, inmates are oftentimes released in other areas of the city besides downtown.