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How a Wealthy Cleveland Suburb Profits From Ticketing Black Drivers

Highlights

From January 2022 to September 2022, only seven citations were issued to Bratenahl residents, which was .007 percent of the total tickets.

 

Black Clevelanders say Bratenahl officers target them when they drive through the affluent and majority White village. From January to September 2022, almost all of the 1,006 tickets were issued to people from outside Bratenahl. Until 2020 it was not a requirement for officers to note race information, but from January 2020 to September 2022, 45 percent of traffic stop records did not list race. A Marshall Project-Cleveland investigation found the village has assessed more than $700,000 in fines, court costs, and other revenue since 2020, the majority from Black Clevlanders driving through the village’s jurisdiction. Bratenahl generates six to eight percent of its annual general revenue from traffic citations and court costs.

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Mark Puente, Stan Donaldson Jr., Cid Standifer and Tara Morgan
The Marshall Project
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