Driver in Mayor Bibb’s crash told police he drove through red light heading to ’emergency meeting’

By Drew Scofield , Jonathan Walsh

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    CLEVELAND (WEWS) — Newly released body camera footage from Mayor Justin Bibb’s crash shows his driver telling a Cleveland police officer that he drove through a red light to get to an emergency meeting.

When News 5 reached out to the city with questions about the video, Cleveland Chief Communications Officer Sarah Johnson said the meeting was about the cyberattack on the city. Johnson said the mayor did not ask the driver to go through the red light.

The crash happened just before 9 a.m. on June 13 at East 12th Street and Superior Avenue and involved Bibb’s city vehicle and another motorist.

According to sources who talked to News 5 Investigators, Bibb’s driver was Demetrius Woods — a 22-year Cleveland police veteran.

Woods activated his lights at the intersection moments before driving through the red light and colliding with the other vehicle.

Police speak to Bibb’s driver

Body camera footage shows an officer talking to a firefighter and Woods after the crash occurred.

Editor’s note: The bodycam shared with News 5 by the City of Cleveland blacked out the mayor’s driver and the mayor — News 5 did not make those edits.

Firefighter: “This is the mayor’s vehicle.”

Officer: “What mayor?”

Firefighter: “Our mayor.”

The officer then approaches Woods and asks him who was driving.

Woods: “Me.”

Officer: “What happened?”

Woods: “So, pull up to the light— cleared the intersection.”

Officer: “Went to the light— so you were heading west?”

Woods: “I’m heading westbound on Superior. Went to the light, lights were activated. Cleared the light. There was a gentleman standing on the corner. He was getting ready to cross the street; he stopped. Pulled up; as I cleared it, come through, got popped.”

Officer: “OK, so you were heading west on Superior?”

Woods: “West on Superior, yeah.”

Officer: “You had your overhead light…”

Woods: “Emergency lights, yeah.”

Officer: “For what reason?”

Woods: “The mayor needed to get somewhere for a meeting— emergency meeting.”

Officer: “So, you guys had the red light?”

Woods: “Yeah, we had the red light. I pull up to the light. I clear it. I see a pedestrian getting to cross… stops.”

Officer: “Stops…”

“And as I get ready (to) proceed through, he (the other driver) hit me.”

Police speak to witnesses

The officer spoke with two witnesses at the scene, both stating that Woods activated his lights at the last minute.

One witness told the officer, “By the time he got half mid-range, I seen him cut his lights on. And this vehicle— the van— just came straight across and just slammed into him.”

Crash and aftermath

The crash was captured on a nearby surveillance camera.

Bibb sustained a cut to his head in the crash. Cleveland EMS transported the mayor to the hospital as a precaution. In the body camera video, Bibb told a police officer he was experiencing some back pain.

The other driver appeared to have injured his arm and was seen walking from his minivan afterward.

Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd told News 5 on Friday that upon preliminary examination, the driver activated his lights “outside of the emergency response driving policy.”

The city is still investigating the matter and reviewing what happened. For violating the city’s driving policy, the driver could face discipline ranging from a verbal warning to a 3-day suspension.

Bibb released a statement Tuesday, stating that the driver exhibited “bad judgment” and “his actions are not something I condone.”

The mayor also took responsibility and apologized.

Here’s Bibb’s full statement:

“I want to make it clear that nobody is above the law, and I take full responsibility for the actions of my staff. The officer on my security detail exhibited bad judgement in the moment, and his actions are not something I condone. I apologize for the inconvenience or harm caused, and I will ensure the appropriate measures are taken to prevent such an incident in the future.”

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