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Cleveland committee amends then rejects tougher menacing penalty for health‑care workers; requests more data
Summary
The City Council Public Safety Committee debated Ordinance 13‑80‑25 to raise penalties for menacing health‑care workers to a first‑degree misdemeanor with a mandatory three‑day minimum. After amendments to broaden the definition of "health care worker" and sharp questions about bias and implementation, the ordinance failed in committee and members asked staff for demographic and incident data before further action.
Council’s Public Safety Committee considered Ordinance 13‑80‑25 — introduced by Councilmembers Blaine Griffin and Michael Polensek — which would amend Codified Ordinances §6.21.07 to increase the penalty for menacing a health‑care worker to a first‑degree misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and a possible $1,000 fine, and imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of three days when the victim is a health‑care worker performing official duties. Assistant law director Jennifer O’Malley described the change as intended to “discourage and strongly penalize increasing workplace violence against health care workers.”
The committee heard from Cleveland Clinic representatives, including Dallas Moyer, senior project manager for the…
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