TOLEDO, Ohio —
As the last rays of evening sun begin to disappear on TPD headquarters, it was time for the gang task force to go out on patrol.
On Thursday evening, the task force's 25 officers made stops on the east side and in central Toledo -- the areas of town that the task force's research shows are hot spots for crime.
WTOL 11 went with them Thursday for a ride-along to understand their work combating gang-related violence in Toledo.
Task force supervisor Sgt. Mel Stachura said the work is about more than just handing out traffic violations.
"They see us in the area and maybe they wanted to have a rival gang do a shootout, and they see us in the area and decide today's not the day to do it," Stachura said. "So hopefully it's just disrupting people's criminal activities."
Early in the night, a white truck turned without using a signal. While Stachura pulled over the driver, he said if drivers have a clean record he tends to give them a break. The task force has much bigger crimes to worry about.
"He's good, no warrants, I can see he's a valid driver, so I'm gonna go ahead and cut him a warning, kick him loose and we'll go try and find something else," Stachura said in his cruiser before sending the away the driver.
As the truck drove away, Stachura signaled to another passing police cruiser to let them know he had the situation under control. With night patrols, constant check ups and communication are key. Proving that point only minutes later, Sgt. Stachura responded to a call for assistance at the Ravines in East Toledo.
"I'm just gonna see if they want help," Stachura said as he exited his vehicle.
According to the officers on scene, a group of teens were pulled over and started switching seats as the officer approached the window.
The driver was a minor with no license, and as officers searched the car, they found something hidden. It was a fake gun or Airsoft gun, hidden under the seat.
"So more than likely he was trying to conceal that," Stachura said.
Stachura thinks the kid will likely only get a citation. As he prepared to leave the scene, the child's father waved Stachura down and explained that his son keeps the fake gun for protection after being threatened by his ex's family.
"Here's what I want to tell you," Stachura said. "He had a fake gun. I don't know if it was because of that."
"It's because of that," the father said.
"But be careful!" Stachura said. "Like I was telling people, that can get you shot too. Just be careful."
"Yes," the father said.
"Give me a holler, man," Stachura said, handing his number to the man before driving away.
"I let them reach out to me, if I can help anybody out, that's my whole job," Stachura said.
The rest of the night was slow. Though police were called to investigate gunshots, nothing turned up and known gang territory was empty.
"But a slow night for us is usually a great night for the city," Stachura said. "Nobody got in trouble, nobody got hurt, so that's always a paramount thing for us, is that everyone gets home safe."
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