City hopes detection system reduces gun violence
CINCINNATI — City and police officials hope a system that can quickly detect gunshots and their source will help cut down on gun violence in Cincinnati.
A city statement issued Monday said the detection system uses microphones to pinpoint the time and location of gunfire. The audio sensors triangulate and pinpoint the number of shots fired within 25 meters. When a gunshot is detected, the system sends a real-time alert to the dispatch center as well as on-patrol officers.
The system also is intended to help police track shootings that go unreported, make it easier to recover evidence and ensure timely medical attention for victims.
Officials say the ShotSpotter system will be installed across three square miles in the Avondale neighborhood and should go live by the end of August.
Mayor vows review after white officer punches black driver
EUCLID — The mayor of a Cleveland suburb where a white police officer repeatedly punched a black man and hit his head on pavement is promising a thorough review.
Euclid Mayor Kirsten Gail on Monday attended a community relations task force meeting where protesters raised questions about police treatment of residents, especially minorities.
In a statement , Gail says cellphone and dashcam video of the Saturday altercation after a traffic stop raise “serious concerns.” She says officials will take “appropriate action” after reviewing it.
Police say a 25-year-old Cleveland man ignored an officer’s orders and began resisting. Video show a three-minute struggle before the man is handcuffed with help from other officers.
He is charged with driving under suspension and resisting arrest. He hasn’t commented.
Coach sentenced to 2 days in jail for sex with teen
CANTON — A former high school swim coach has been ordered to spend two days in jail after pleading guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old girl on his team.
Sam Seiple, a longtime coach at McKinley High School in Canton, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors say they considered a felony charge against Seiple but allowed him to plead to the lesser charge because the agreement ends his coaching career.
The Canton Repository reports that Seiple’s accuser, now a college student, says she is satisfied with the outcome.
Seiple’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Boats destroyed by fire at Cedar Point Marina
SANDUSKY — Officials say no one was injured when at least two boats caught fire at a marina near an Ohio amusement park.
A spokesman for the Sandusky Fire Department says multiple boats were completely destroyed by the flames at the Cedar Point Marina on Monday.
A Coast Guard official tells the Sandusky Register that several guardsmen witnessed an explosion while training nearby and were able to quickly respond.
The marina is located near the Cedar Point amusement park, but a spokesman says it is not on park property and the park itself was not affected.
College student hospitalized after fall
CHAGRIN FALLS — Officials say a college student attending a retreat at a suburban Cleveland camp fell on an elevated ropes course, became entangled and was hospitalized with unspecified injuries.
She was hurt Monday during a retreat meant to build camaraderie among students in a Baldwin Wallace University honors program. WKYC-TV reports that witnesses said she appeared lifeless after she fell at Hiram House Camp in Chagrin Falls.
In a statement, the camp says it prioritizes safety and cooperated with emergency responders who took the student to a hospital.
Officials didn’t release her name or information about her condition.
The school has canceled the remaining days of the retreat. Administrators say they’re keeping the student and her family in their thoughts and prayers.
Judges reject appeal over sleeping juror
COLUMBUS — An Ohio appeals court has concluded that a juror’s snoozing during testimony in a murder trial isn’t enough to overturn the defendant’s conviction.
An attorney for 28-year-old Desjuan Hayes argued that he didn’t get a fair trial last year because a judge failed to remove the juror or question her about repeatedly falling asleep.
The Columbus Dispatch reports Tuesday that a three-judge panel from the appeals court ruled last week that the juror’s napping was unacceptable but didn’t appear to affect the trial’s outcome.
Attorneys in the case discussed possibly replacing the snoozing juror with an alternate during trial, but neither side requested that move when the judge offered it.
Hayes was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 21 years.
Woman gets OK for ‘covfefe’ license plate
CORTLAND — Ohio officials have granted a woman’s request to have President Donald Trump’s mysterious tweeted typo, “covfefe,” on her license plate.
Brittany Scott tells The Columbus Dispatch in May she saw a Twitter post by Trump that read: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.”
The 29-year-old Cortland woman says she wrote in her application that her request stemmed from a tweet from the 45th president of the United States, and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles approved it.
Scott says she hasn’t received any complaints online or from fellow motorists.
A bureau committee examines hundreds of applications each day for vanity plates, denying profane, obscene or sexually explicit ones. It also rejects those it determines could provoke violence or advocate lawlessness.
