Eclipse 2024--Be Prepared!

On Monday, 04/08/2024, the City of Rocky River will be in the path of totality of a solar eclipse, a phenomenon that has not happened since 1806 and will not happen again until 2099. Northeast Ohio is within a one-day drive of about 70% of the country’s population. A significant increase in the region’s population on the day of the eclipse is expected.  

Times for the eclipse on Monday are:

1:59 p.m.         Eclipse begins.
3:13 p.m.        Total eclipse begins.
3:17 p.m.        Total eclipse ends.
4:29 p.m.         Eclipse ends.

 The Rocky River Division of Police has planned for increased patrol staffing on the day before, the day of, and the night after the eclipse. On Monday, police personnel will be present at City parks, the Police Boat Argus will be in the water, and bicycle patrol officers will be deployed. We have coordinated with our Westshore law enforcement partners in planning for this event.  

 Overnight parking permission is granted from Friday, 04/05/2024, night through Tuesday, 04/09/2024, morning to accommodate visitors. All other parking restrictions will be enforced to ensure safe passage of increased traffic and emergency vehicles.

 Parks will be closed during normal hours and will open on Monday, 04/08/2024, at 6:30 a.m. Park rules remain in effect. Parks may be closed to vehicular traffic if lots are full to avoid traffic issues and to ensure the safety of guests.

 Concerns that have been identified include a strain on mobile/cellular communication systems and an increase in traffic, particularly on Monday evening as visitors are leaving the area.

 It is recommended that residents ensure vehicles are fueled, stock up on food and other provisions to minimize the need to be on the roads, and charge mobile phones and other communication devices.

 Plan for extremely heavy traffic on Monday afternoon, including possible gridlock. Avoid the roadways during that time. If you must be on the road, plan for a much longer than usual travel time. Do not block intersections. Vehicles parked illegally, disabled, or otherwise impeding traffic may be impounded.

 While there is no information to indicate any specific problems, large gatherings of people may attract opportunistic criminal behavior. Be sure to follow basic crime prevention tactics. Lock your homes and cars and do not leave personal property unattended. Most importantly, if you see suspicious behavior of any kind, please notify police immediately by calling 440-331-1234 or, in an emergency, 911.

We've moved!

Last week, the Rocky River Police moved into the new police station at Rocky River City Hall campus at 21012 Hilliard Blvd. 

While the Department is fully functional and able to take and respond to all calls, public access to the new building will be limited for the next several weeks due to exterior construction. 

During that time, if you need police assistance, please dial 911 in an emergency or 440-331-1234 for non-emergencies and a police officer will assist you. 

Essential business can be conducted at the police station Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Visitors must enter through the City Hall northwest entrance (between the Rocky River Municipal Court and the Rocky River Fire Department) during those hours. On weekends or after hours, please dial 911 in an emergency or 440-331-1234 for non-emergencies and a police officer will assist you. 

We look forward to welcoming the community to their new police station when construction is complete. Until then, please give us room to put on the finishing touches.

Police Station Front.jpg

A Message from Chief George Lichman

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Rocky River Police Department website.

The Rocky River Police Department is dedicated to providing the finest police service possible with integrity, honesty, and professionalism. We are proud to serve the Rocky River community using proactive crime prevention strategies, strong community/police partnerships, community input, and constant transparency. I hope that you will discover ways in which you can partner with the Department to assist us in making our community the safest it can be.

The Rocky River Police Department is composed of a thirty-four (34) sworn officers and a civilian support staff of sixteen (16). We serve over twenty thousand (20,000) residents, hundreds of businesses, and their many visitors.  

Members of this department are committed to providing the best possible customer service. You, as a part of this community, expect and deserve prompt, professional service, twenty-four (24) hours a day. In order to continue to provide this type of service, we rely on input from residents, businesses, and other members of our community.

Please contact me with comments, questions, or suggestions at glichman@rrcity.com. You are also welcome to call my office at any time at 440-799-8208.

I look forward to working together to build positive relationships, find solutions to quality of life issues, and create avenues for working together to maintain the safety and well being of our great community, the City of Rocky River.     

Thank you, Rocky River.

Chief Kelly Stillman

To the Community of Rocky River

Today, Friday, September 25, 2020, will be my last day as your Police Chief. I have had an amazing career here and wanted to take a moment and let each and every one of you know how proud I am to have served you and this great city for the past 36 years. While I will not be a stranger to Rocky River by any means (and plan to be at the ribbon cutting ceremony when the new police station opens in 2021!), I start a new career as the Chief of Police for the City of Beachwood on Monday, September 28, 2020.  I am very excited about this opportunity and all the challenges it will bring.

I was born and raised in Rocky River and owe a lot of my success to what the community has done for me. All of my education was in the Rocky River School System, and it was as highly regarded back then as it is today. The safety and security of this community afforded me a safe environment to be raised in, one that we strive to achieve each and every day for you now.

Law enforcement has seen some drastic changes in the past few decades. Public trust and support has really been put to the test, never more than the last six months as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for reform and defunding of local departments. But our community has continued to give us complete support and backing. The Rocky River Police Department has been showered with acts of kindness, letters, voicemails, cards, countless arrivals of lunches, dinners, and more, delivered to us out of the kindness of your hearts. That type of support from our community means more than I can express here; and for that we are wholeheartedly indebted to you. So today is bittersweet for me as I say good-bye to such a fantastic community as I close a chapter of my life with all of you.

I have made so many great friendships over the 10 years that I have led your Department. I wish I could thank each and every one of you personally, but that is not possible. I take the time now to let you know that I will never forget my roots; I will never forget what the Rocky River community has done for me both personally and professionally; I will never forget what you have done for our Department. We all THANK YOU so much for your support and understanding.

As I have said countless times, if there is anything that I can do for any of you, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will always be here for you, you have given me so much and I will never forget any of that. May God bless each and every one of you.

Stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Chief Kelly J. Stillman

Let's Start at the Beginning: Recruitment & Selection

The last few weeks have been busy for police executives and elected leaders across the country as we have simultaneously been managing the impact of the novel Coronavirus pandemic; working with community leaders to ensure safe, peaceful, and meaningful protests; and answering inquiries from community members about what our Police Department is doing to prevent excessive force and racially disparate law enforcement.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will share what we have done, will continue to do, and new efforts to maintain and improve the high level of support and confidence the Police Department enjoys from the Rocky River community.

When considering what topic to start with, it seemed reasonable to start at the beginning: recruitment and selection of police officers. Finding interested and qualified applicants is a new challenge. Only 20 years ago, cities like Rocky River limited applicants to 200-300 because there was so much interest; applications for a single test in some bigger cities approached 2000. However, over the last decade, applications have dropped to as low as 20. There are many reasons for this decline, and it is not unique to our region or to policing--fire departments are facing similar declines in interested candidates. It has created a new interest in recruiting efforts nationwide.

Our recruitment and selection efforts are guided by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board, commonly referred to as The Collaborative (more on that in a subsequent post), Ohio Civil Service laws, and the Rocky River Civil Service Commission. The Police Department has a Recruitment and Selection policy based on these laws and guidelines.

One of the Collaborative standards is Employee Recruitment and Hiring, which includes, among other things:

  • Compliance with equal opportunity laws

  • A “comprehensive recruitment and selection strategy to recruit and select employees from a qualified and diverse pool of candidates.”

  • A background investigation including reference, driving record, employment eligibility, employment history, public information searches, financial history, criminal history, and social media searches.

We have recently implemented more proactive recruiting efforts, including certifying officers to teach at regional police academies (instruction is done on their own time, but it exposes students to our department and staff) and sending officers to job fairs, college criminal justice classes, and police academies to share their experiences. 

Rocky River’s City Charter, Section V, establishes a Civil Service Commission and outlines their powers and duties, including the responsibility “for the appointment, promotion, transfer, layoff, reinstatement, suspension, and removal of officers and employees of the City…as provided in the general laws of Ohio, except as may otherwise be provided in this Charter.”

The Civil Service Commission determines a testing and hiring process that is fair and consistent with Ohio law. That includes establishing eligibility, testing, determining and applying extra credit, and approving the entire process. Eligible candidates then go through the following process:

  • Complete a physical agility test prior to the application deadline

  • Pass a written examination. Extra credit points are applied to passing scores for honorable military service, college degrees, and prior peace officer certification.

  • Interview with human resources and police executive staff.

  • A panel interview with police personnel including command staff and training officers.

  • Polygraph examination

  • Background investigation

  • Certification by the Civil Service Commission

  • Interview with the Mayor

  • Conditional offer of employment

  • Psychological testing

  • Medical testing

After those steps are successfully completed, a candidate may be appointed by the Civil Service Commission and sworn in by the Mayor to the position of police officer.

Most of our new hires over the last decade have already attended an Ohio Peace Officer Basic Academy. In the first week, new police officers complete administrative work and training that includes equipment qualification, policy review, learning computer systems, and completing other State mandated obligations. Then, they begin a 12-14 week field training program, during which they are assigned to three Field Training Officers (FTO) for about four weeks each. New officers in the FTO program are rated daily and weekly and if they are not responding to training as expected, may have to extend field training, participate in remedial work, or be released.

After successfully completing field training, the new police officer is assigned to solo patrol. While they sometimes respond to calls for service independently, an FTO or senior patrol officer is generally assigned to calls with them to provide guidance, if needed, and continued feedback to supervisors.

Civil service employees are subject to a probationary employment period, which gives employers more latitude when making retention decisions. Our City charter allows a probationary period of up to two years, which is longer than most other civil service employers, and allows for an extended opportunity to review the performance of new police officers to ensure that, as they gain experience and confidence, they remain a suitable fit for our department and community.

Recruitment and selection of police officer candidates is one of the most important decisions we make. The process described above gives us confidence that we are making informed decisions in hiring police officers who will serve our community with pride and dedication for decades to come.

Why Realistic Toy Guns Are Incredibly Dangerous

Rocky River Police have encountered children and young adults playing with very realistic looking air soft guns.

Fortunately, no one was hurt during the process, but we dealt with angry and less than understanding community members.

Please read this post by the North Ridgeville police, look at the pictures, and think carefully about using or allowing your children to use these replica guns.

Senior Citizens Targeted in Banking Scam

It has been reported that there have been new scams targeting Senior Citizens, and a few residents have fallen victims to this activity.

In the past month, we have had several senior citizens who have been contacted by a male stating that he is working for a local Police Department and that someone had attempted to cash fake checks at two banks using their account information. This male identified himself as working for the Elyria Police Department and another victim stated that this male was working for the Cleveland Police Department. The suspect then asked the victims to work "undercover" and withdraw large sums of money in an effort to catch the perpetrators. 

If you are ever contacted by someone who identifies themselves as a Police Officer and requests that you assist them in catching someone who has accessed their bank accounts, immediately contact the Rocky River Police Department so we can take action. DO NOT GIVE any personal information over the phone. Confirm whom you are talking to by calling that police agency back to verify employment. A Police Officer will never ask you to withdraw cash to assist them in catching a criminal.

Gain Insight into How Police Officers Work with Citizen Police Academy

This Plain Dealer article provides great knowledge into the importance of neighbors understanding how effective police officers can be with the assistance and understanding of their local community. 

The article details how participants "are encouraged to become vocal ambassadors for improved police and community relations."

We suspect the participants in the Rocky River CPA have similar things to say. Send us a message if you're interested in participating in the next Rocky River CPA!

Help Your Community with Citizen Police Academy

The Rocky River Police Department is proud to offer a Citizen Police Academy, and the sixth class of our CPA is currently underway and scheduled to graduate in May. 

We invite you to read this article offering insights into the world Police Officers face and the benefits that can be gained from the entire community when citizens become involved in a Citizen Police Academy. 

If you're interested in participating in the next CPA, or have questions, please send us a message with your name and email address. We invite you to stay tuned to our Facebook page for class announcements, or contact Lt. Lichman at the Police Department.