Downtown shutdown; curfew leads to confusion

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -The confusion over Cleveland’s curfew has left some people stranded and others feeling trapped.

Peace and order have returned to Downtown Cleveland, but the area remains eerily quiet. Stores are closed, windows boarded up and the National Guard has been called in to help restore peace.

Drew Weingart lives downtown and witnessed the destruction Saturday. “Heinen’s, CVS, Dollar General. It’s all destroyed,” said Weingart. “Some of us came down to try and protect what we could and keep people away, but it was chaos.”

While the chaos has calmed, confusion has set in. “I have been getting alerts on my phone but it doesn’t really go into details of what we can and can’t do,” said downtown resident Demetrius Jackson.

The City of Cleveland’s curfew for the Central Business District and the Market District area of Ohio City has been extended until 8 p.m. June 2. Traffic is restricted and a parking ban is in effect. A tweet with clarifications about the restrictions wasn’t posted on the City’s official social media until late Monday morning.

Too late for the Harris family. They came downtown Friday for a weekend getaway at a nearby hotel and got stuck. “I just want to get home,” said Marketta Harris. “You can’t get a Lyft, cant get an Uber, can’t get transportation.”

19 News reached out to Cleveland City Councilman Kerry McCormack, who represents the area, but did not hear back.

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