By Yarbor Lamont
Cleveland Clerk of Courts headmaster, Earl Turner, has for decades headed up one of the city’s largest departments and has done so to the delight and satisfaction of the residents that he represents.
Turner has held his position with the city since 1996 and has yet to rest on his laurels. Nope. Not for one second.
Just a few weeks ago, Turner was out in the community with his,”In the Neighborhood”, initiative that offers individuals who may have arrest warrants out in their names to meet at a safe place in that individuals neighborhood. Turner has promised that no one would be arrested.
Once there, Turner and his team arrange for that person to make payment plans or they set upcoming court dates to finalize whatever issue had been hanging that resulted in the warrant. This time, Turner set up shop at the McDonald’s at E..55th and Superior Ave.
In the past, police have attempted to pull over individuals who had outstanding warrants and the drivers have fled in an effort to elude the authorities. Sadly, many of the people have lost their lives in doing so. There have been crashes into houses, utility poles, cars and unfortunately, several pedestrians have been hit and oftentimes killed by fleeing motorists.
This is why Turner is hellbent on staying the course and widening the net with the program.”I am so happy to see this turnout at today’s session “, Louis Moore said with a wide smile spread across his face. “ Too many people are running from the police over very small infractions and hurting themselves and possibly others when they run from the police. Thankfully, Earl has a smart way and safe way to keep this from happening. He’s actually saving their lives “.
Moore, a well-known concert promoter and community activist has for years assisted Turner in putting the word out about the program through his photojournalism in the Call & Post newspaper and here in “GET LIT”. Other important partners who were involved in making this event a huge success were longtime friends of the community, Billy Sharp and McDonald’s owners Geoffrey and Peaches Ledwidge.
Go to the Clerk of Courts website for dates of upcoming “In the Neighborhood” sessions.