you always gotta make sure you stop completely and don't go over 35mph's or they'll pull you over....as a former resident of Timberlake, I too have been pulled over numerous times...their hiding spots are in the CroDome parking lot, the Yellow house to the left of 91 in their driveway, across from Convenient, or on the side street across from those apartments. It stinks but you just gotta watch out for them....

Very careless! Public safety is not a concern in that department.

Closed

Why is timberlake stoping car in EASTLAKE anyway. 91 and lakeshore EAST is in EASTLAKE NOT TIMBERLAKE. JERRY

No TM

did you make a full stop and look both ways before preceeding on right turn when red or are you like the rest of eastlake drivers that just slow and go.

Timberlake officers do as they please. They park in the right of way in the dark looking for tickets. I saw a timberlake cruiser one evening last week parked in the driveway (fire lane) at the coffee shop in Willoughby at 545 pm, next to Huntington Bank.
Why is the officer out of the community that he/she is paid to protect
Interesting, isn't it?

I think my comment vanished in the ether, so let me try again. If this repeats something already posted, sorry.

The intersection of 91 and Lakeshore IS in Timberlake, not Eastlake. Building a city hall on the corner doesn't change the border, which actually runs about where the south sidewalk would be. The buildings on the south side are in Eastlake, but both sides of Lakeshore are in Timberlake from the Lakeline border to the 500 flags roadway.

Also, a cop can pull you over anywhere in Ohio as long as the infraction happened in his/her jurisdiction. In other words, speed in Mentor and a Mentor cop can follow you and pull you over in Dayton.

Not taking sides (don't know enough about the issue personally to take sides). Just trying to spread a little education about how the law works or doesn't work in Ohio.

You have to make sure your come to a complete, 0mph, wheels-stopped, stop at the red light at 91 and LKSB. If he's lurking around, your nailed. How else do you think Timberlake is going to balance their budget??? with common drivers pocket!! Just like Highland Heights, Willoughby Hills.

The ingnornace is to much to take with this comments.

Who is that short Timberlake cop that uses his own car (black Suburban), equipped with all the red and blue lights? Does he use it to pull people over too, and if not what right does he have to have all of that emergency lighting on his own car.... private plates and no markings?

Now there is another public safety concern... a cop that is not in a cop car, that looks like a cop car.... Mayor, chief, council... what is up with that guy? Or... does Timberlake own the car and he takes it home? What is up with that?

I have seen that vehicle, and the same question arose in my mind. Who is he? Looks like a privately owned "decked out vehicle", but what I can see looking it up in the Ohio Code book, he is illegally displaying those lights if the vehicle is in fact his own, and if it belongs to Timberlake, I as a resident question why he is driving it away from Timberlake, as I've only seen it occasionally in the village.

Looking back in "Click Fix", a couple years ago a short Timberlake officer with an attitude is mentioned on another Timberlake complaint. Same guy maybe? Does Timberlake have Napolean working there, and that big car makes him more of a man?

So, mayor, council, police chief, tell us... who is he, and why is he driving our car away from Timberlake if that is the case, and if it is his own, why is he permitted to break the law?

Where do I begin...I am a police officer I know the chief and several of the officers that work there.

1. Timberlake is a Part-time police department with a small operating budget
All officers work 2-4 days a month FREE for 1 year or more, then they start getting paid
$8/hr
Officers pay for everything minus bullets, badge and patches.
a. Gun $500.00 (Officer pays)
b. Police academy $3,500.00 (Officer pays)
c. Uniforms (2 shirts and pants) $ 200.00 (Officer pays)
d. Duty belt and pouches $ 150-500 (Officer pays)
e. Winter jacket/boots $250.00 (Officer pays)
f. Misc. uniform items $150.00 (Officer pays)

These guys do everything the big departments do, just not as often. Timberlake spearheads several major accidents every year, as well as the minor fender benders. They had a burglary last year, domestic violence cases, just last week one of the officers was in a foot chase. etc. ASK YOURSELF....Would I do all that for free for a year then get paid Mc Donalds wages after that? Then be criticized on this forum for not being perfect!!!! These officers go to work because they like the job, and want to make a difference.....

2. Safety is of utmost concern to every police department. Not every officer follows the rules, but most do. We all make mistakes (EVEN YOU READING THIS)

3. Several officers at the deparftment have other police jobs as well as leadership positions and are permitted to use there own vehicles (IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS ONLY) The vehicles you see on actual patrol are TIMBERLAKE CRUISERS the others are personal vehicles driven by police officers (Such as volunteer fireman have there vehicles equipped)
NO VILLAGE VEHICLE IS BEING USED AS A PERSONAL CAR.

4. Every officer is permitted a lunch or dinner break...If the officer chooses to drive 2.5 miles out of the village to pick up a coffee or a sandwich for 15 minutes, I think that would be acceptable to most prudent readers of this forum.
(EMEREGENCY VEHICLES ARE PERMITTED TO PARK IN FIRE LANES) sometimes the officer may need to make a quick exit...also police cars have weapons in them and should be as close to the officer as possible.

5. A very small amount of ticket money makes it back to the village. Timberlake has to pay for Willoughby courts services, Sheriffs office dispatch and jail services.

People realize that those police officers respond to emergencies, Assist Eastlake when needed, investigate crimes, perform traffic stops, play with the kids, do house checks etc.
They are people too....flawed as you you are....but most are good people.

(MOST TRAFFIC STOPS END IN A WARNING) dont assume just because you see a Timberlake officer on a traffic stop he or she is giving a ticket...Stolen vehicles, missing persons, suspicious activities can all lead to a traffic stop.

Now let the negative comments begin.

Thanks for reading...

As a real timberlake resident for over 30 years, there is really no reason to explain your actions. All of the village knows and trusts are men in blue and I applaud you for explaining to those people who just want to start trouble.

I for one know that when I need you, your there
and when I see something suspicious, something not right, somehow or someway, your down the street close by.

Keep doing what your doing.

God knows I appreciate it.

This whole string started out by a family member who wrote how they had been almost hit by a police car, whose driver disregarded the safety of the motoring public to catch a violator. I've read about what they do wrong, and what they do right. I read about their very own Napolean who had apparently been causing issues for some time, as he'd been written about before in this very ClickFix column (query Timberlake).

I've read how little money they each make, how they volunteer their time, how much they've invested so they can be cops.... brutes with badges it seems for some. Many are caring, most I would say, those who use Timberlake as a training ground and move on so I am told. But, where I see that others have police jobs elsewhere, some in leadership positions, I must question why one would want to both volunteer or make a measley eight bucks an hour if they are in command elsewhere? I will agree that getting a sandwich out of area is permissible, and yes the car should always stay close by, within reason. What about our goofy ex-mayor, I had been told who a few years back had installed GPS trackers in each car so he could always know where the guys were at?

I am glad to see that the cars used are in fact Timberlake cars, but what about that "decked out Suburban"? Not a volunteer fireman with the blue lights on it and I've asked around and no one knows of any department that has or allows an officer to use his own car for patrol, or for that matter, according to one of the officers hasn't a clue why their guy has all of those lights on his car. So, is that Napolean's own car, and as the car owner, as he had been described as the short officer in another post, does the car and lights make him a bigger man? I've read in the other posts where it may illegal for him to even have those unless he is in fact a member of another department where that may be his patrol car, which I was told is not the case.

Glad to know that every stop does not wind up in a ticket being issued, but perception is everything, be it parking in a fire lane, handicapped zone (hope not), getting a sandwich on Vine, or just being seen. But drive carefully guys, the life you save may be mine, by not crashing into me over a ticket, just because you can! Query writer, I'm with you, and I am glad to know they are out there for us, but when something is amiss, they all should be held to the higher standard of explaining their actions, actions being why a family almost got wiped out because someone wnet 5 miles over the limit!

Why the short jokes? Maybe Napolean is of average height? Cant short people do the job as an overweight nurse does her job? Why the name calling of the ex mayor being goofy? Is that the pot calling the kettle black?

I worked at Timberlake PD a while ago and, as I recall, I was paid substantially more than $8 an hour, but times have changed, so maybe they took some pay cuts. Anyway, let me answer some of Commentator's (and others') questions.

Why would an officer in one department care to work for Timberlake? There are several possible reasons. Officers have to be commissioned with a state-sanctioned police department in order to keep their state peace officer certifications active. If an officer has reason to fear his full-time job may be in jeopardy (pending layoffs, etc.), having a commission held in Timberlake could save that officer's certification. Some officers simply enjoy the work and are willing to assist smaller departments because they enjoy the work. I'm that way, myself, and have often worked for more than one department at a time. In fact, when I worked at Timberlake, I also worked at a larger department somewhere else. Some officers are just starting their careers and a place like Timberlake is a great place to start. It's also a great place for older officers to bring their careers to a close.

Private vehicles are not used for patrol, but may be called upon in times of emergency to assist with blocking streets, transporting officers, etc. If a police chief says you can use your car in this manner, that is all that is required by the state to make the vehicle into a public safety vehicle. There used to be an officer in Timberlake who also worked for a security agency and he drove a security agency vehicle. The vehicle looked like it could have been a police car, so some people might have thought it was being used by Timberlake.

Some years ago, I was a police chief and had a take-home car...a fully marked Crown Victoria with a light bar, siren, radio, etc. I used the car as my personal car, which was my deal with my employer. Whenever I was in it, even if I was going shopping, I was subject to being called into work at a moment's notice. When I first started at that job, I drove an unmarked car, but when I had to respond to emergencies several times, I realized the liability involved in my having an unmarked car and I switched to a fully marked car. Even though I had a blue light and siren on the unmarked car, people would hesitate to move aside or would refuse to move aside. If I visited another police station, people might assume I was working there, even if I was just visiting. That could be what's happening with that SUV in Timberlake. Don't assume because you see what looks like a police car in front of a police station, the driver is working at that police station.

A driver being pulled over by a police car does not necessarily mean a ticket is being issued. Drivers are pulled over for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, it could be for a minor infraction and the officer is just giving them a warning. I do that with about 75% of my traffic stops. It could simply be the car was disabled and the officer pulled up to assist or the driver flagged the officer down. Also, don't assume every cop at the side of the road is running radar. If you have to drive somewhere for eight hours, don't you have to stop and take a break now and then? Why can't we?

There are no restaurants in Timberlake, so an officer on a lunch break has no choice but to leave the village or brown bag it. So what if he decides to run up to Vine Street or Euclid for a sandwich?

And, as one writer pointed out, officers can stop and ticket you anywhere in the state as long as the infraction occurred in his jurisdiction, but even that law was changed a little a couple of years ago. Now, uniformed officers in marked cars can stop you anywhere in Ohio and cite you for traffic violations! I don't know of any department that allows its officers to do that, but it is legal. Thus, if I'm an Eastlake officer in uniform and in a marked Eastlake police car driving in Mentor or Youngstown and I see you run a red light, I can stop you and cite you.

Stop picking on Timberlake and other police officers when you have no idea what you're talking about, or label your comments as opinions and don't try to present tham as facts.

Short, tall, who really cares, as I was commenting on other's posts. When anyone who can do the job I will agree that size has no bearing, but getting back to the whole reason for this blog is about Timberlake Police driving issues, and the attitude that they can, well at least some, which brought out the attitude comments and breaking of laws. Maybe the guy with the suburban is also with the CIA, or FBI. Okay enough, he may very well have a legitimate reason to have all of the equipment and may very well be a good officer!

This police bashing needs to stop. This was not meant for that reason. This discussion has gotten of topic and out of control.

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