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Ohio’s Blue Alert system helps protect officers in danger

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Ohio’s Blue Alert system helps protect officers in danger


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO)– Ohio’s Blue Alert notification system asks the public for help when a law enforcement officer’s life is in danger.

According to the National Fraternal Order of Police’s monthly update,108 law enforcement officers have been shot in the line of duty through April 30 of this year nationwide. Fourteen of those officers lost their lives in those four months.

The dangers of policing have hit close to home recently in Northeast Ohio. Three officers have been killed since 2024: Lorain Police Officer Phillip Wagner, Cleveland Police Officer Jamieson Ritter and Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin.

We spoke with Joe Mannion, president of the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society, about the importance of Blue Alerts.

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He retired as a lieutenant with Ohio State Highway Patrol after more than 27 years.

“An officer wants to go home every day just like everybody else from their job, a normal person’s job. The dangers, they know what they’re getting into, but it still doesn’t hide the fact that, hey, we’re human,” he said.

The system has been activated multiple times for emergencies in Northeast Ohio, including when three Lorain police officers were shot in July 2025 and Officer Phillip Wagner died, and when Euclid Officer Jacob Derbin was shot and killed in May 2024.

How Blue Alerts work

Two criteria must be met for a Blue Alert to be issued in Ohio.

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First, a law enforcement officer has been seriously injured or killed and a suspect has not been caught, or an on-duty officer is missing and their safety is at risk.

Second, there must be enough information on the suspect or circumstances to show that its activation could help find a suspect or a missing officer.

“The police needs the public’s help to be alert if something’s going on in their area and to make sure they keep their eyes open and report something that they see,” Mannion said.

Ohio created the Blue Alert system in 2012. According to the Ohio Attorney General’s office, Blue Alerts don’t happen very often.

We reached out to the Ohio Department of Public Safety to see how many times they have sent out Blue Alerts, but we have not heard back yet.

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Across the nation, 37 states have Blue Alert plans.

How to receive alerts

In Ohio, Blue Alerts go out over social media and email. They may also appear on signs while driving on the highway.

Unlike Amber Alerts, Blue Alerts do not automatically appear on phones. Those who want to receive Blue Alerts by phone or email must opt into the program through the Ohio Attorney General’s website here.

When it comes to Blue Alerts, Mannion said people who see a suspect should not try to apprehend them.

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“Call 911 right away,” he said. “It’s for the safety of the community they’re in. And it helps keep a track of where the suspect might be heading by the different calls that the agencies receive while on this Blue Alert.”

You can learn more about Ohio’s Blue Alert program here.

National Police Week

A parade and memorial service is scheduled Friday in downtown Cleveland during National Police Week.

“Friday is really the big day,” Mannion said. “It’s when a lot of emotions are spent with the survivors. There’ll be new survivors coming into our fold. But the older survivors who’ve been around, they take them in. It’s one big family.”

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The Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society is hosting a number of events for National Police Week. You can find a list of the events here.

Need an investigation? Contact 19 Investigates with your request.

Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.



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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland man dies after fatal shooting at gas station

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Cleveland man dies after fatal shooting at gas station


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A man was killed Friday after being shot at a gas station on the city’s East side.

Cleveland police said they responded to the Sunoco in the 3300 block of E. 93rd St. around 8:30 p.m.

According to police, officers were in the area when they heard gunshots.

When officers arrived at the gas station, they found the victim with gunshot wounds.

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Officers immediately began to provide first aid until EMS arrived and transported him to University Hospitals.

Carl Formby, 49, died from his injuries at the hospital.

Officers said they found two firearms and several casings at the scene.

The Cleveland Police Homicide Unit is investigating the incident.

Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.

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Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 22, 2026: Not Just Org Chart Noise

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Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 22, 2026: Not Just Org Chart Noise


CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!

There are mornings when I sit down at this keyboard, look at the Browns quarterback discourse, and wonder whether I should have gone into a more stable line of work. Such as selling timeshares from inside an office that has been lit on fire. Because here we are in late June, with no pads, no preseason games, no live pass rush, and apparently everyone from television personalities to team-adjacent announcers to webdorks like me has solved the Browns quarterback battle. That’s 90% of the news items out there this morning.

But I don’t care, and look on that endless speculative churning as simply being noise at this point.

One story that matters this morning is Andrew Healy leaving Cleveland for Minnesota, which I wrote about several days ago. He’s joining the Vikings as an assistant general manager.

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If your first reaction was, “Okay, front-office guy changes jobs, wake me when someone throws a slant,” I get it. Executives mostly become famous when something goes wrong, which is a cruel system, but, hey, I didn’t design the planet. I just live here.

But Healy’s departure is a real loss. Alec Lewis’ Athletic reporting had two quotes that should get your attention. Browns offensive analyst Dom Borsani called Healy “a little bit like a unicorn,” because he combined research background and technical aptitude with a traditional scouting lens and an understanding of coaching schemes. Former Browns senior software developer Zach Zelinsky, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, called him “probably the smartest guy I’ve worked with in sports.”

That’s not normal praise. That’s not “great teammate, first guy in, last guy out” boilerplate. This is people inside the machine saying the Browns just lost one of the people who helped connect the spreadsheet world to the football world. And that matters because the modern NFL is not analytics versus scouting anymore — or at least it shouldn’t be. The good organizations are the ones where the numbers people understand what the scouts are seeing, the scouts trust that the numbers can challenge their assumptions, and the coaches don’t throw the laptop into Lake Erie.

Healy’s Sloan Sports Analytics bio says that, for the last five years, he “led the integration of data and advanced insights into all parts of football operations.” It also says he started with the Browns in 2016 as Senior Player Personnel Strategist, helping to develop methods for valuing players, making game decisions, and evaluating draft assets. Before that, he created projection systems for Football Outsiders, and before that, he was an economics professor with a Ph.D. from MIT. So, yes, he is smarter than your humble webdork. This is not a high bar, but still.

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So, naturally, I was worried about this and did what I always do when I’m looking for common-sense answers: I talked to Lane. He let me know what he “was told all the systems have been in place, with others handling the process. It doesn’t feel like they are overly concerned with his departure. As they have told me previously, you never like to lose assets, but you plan accordingly.”

The Browns still have Andrew Berry. They still have people in the research department. This is not a one-man shop collapsing because the smartest guy took his stapler to Minneapolis. But when you lose Paul DePodesta to the Rockies and Healy to the Vikings in the same general era, you lose institutional memory, decision-making frameworks, and the people who knew why certain models were built the way they were. Don’t expect the loss of the two to indicate much about how the Browns use analytics – it hasn’t fallen out of favor or suddenly joined Maurice Carthon’s playbook in the annals of football history.

This is the type of stuff fans don’t see until two years later, when the draft board feels different, the fourth-down decisions get twitchy, or the team suddenly stops finding value in places it used to find value. Maybe Berry replaces that brainpower cleanly. Maybe the remaining group steps forward. Maybe the Browns are fine. But losing a “unicorn” from a front office is like losing a left guard: nobody talks about it until the pressure starts coming up the middle.

Have a good one! GO BROWNS!

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OBR ARTICLES

  • Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 21, 2026: Fighting for Football Lives
  • Rookie Year Expectations For The Cleveland Browns 2026 Draft Picks – Day Two

FROM THE FORUMS

INSIDER DISCUSSION (VIP)

  • Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 21, 2026: Fighting for Football Lives

THE WATERCOOLER

THE LIFT

Positive news from the world of sports and beyond…

Space.com reports that scientists are drawing up a research blueprint to examine whether warming Mars is actually feasible — not because anyone should be selling lakefront property in Olympus Mons by Thursday, but because the work could help humanity understand what sustainable habitats beyond Earth would require. University of Chicago geophysical scientist Edwin Kite told Space.com, “We do not yet know enough to create a biosphere from scratch,” which is both humbling and oddly comforting. We can’t even get everyone to agree on the Browns quarterback depth chart, but sure, let’s keep the option open for Mars.

WRAPPING UP

When not trying to identify the precise moment quarterback analysis becomes interpretive dance, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.

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Cleveland, OH

3 dead in Lakewood double murder-suicide

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3 dead in Lakewood double murder-suicide


Three people are dead after a double murder-suicide in Lakewood.

Police said a man called his ex-wife early Sunday morning, saying he shot two people at a home on Chesterland Avenue.

According to investigators, the man threatened to shoot himself.

When officers arrived at the scene, they saw a man in a truck speeding away.

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Police chased the truck until it stopped on Warren Road.

The 45-year-old man exited the vehicle with a gun to his head and shot himself moments later, police said.

Police found 35-year-old Richard Eastin and 33-year-old Amanda Wakut dead inside the kitchen of the home on Chesterland Avenue.

The investigation is ongoing.





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