'Taking away from the real issues' | Springfield leaders say health care and education are at risk, not pets

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Are Haitian migrants killing and eating pets and wildlife in one small Ohio community?

City leaders said the short and only answer is no.

The mayor of Springfield, which sits just north of Dayton, along with city administration and police have been shutting down the claims for the past few days ever since they garnered national attention over the weekend.

In a post originally made in a Springfield Facebook group, a person claimed that their neighbor's daughter's friend had lost her cat, searching for it in the area. The author said the woman found her cat hanging from a branch at her Haitian neighbor's home, being carved up. The author did not cite any firsthand knowledge of the incident.

As the Facebook post went viral, so too did a video and photo. The former is police body cam footage showing officers walk up to a woman in a driveway bent over a cat. The animal was bloody and the woman was accused of killing and eating it.

Claims were made that the incident happened in Springfield. That has since been proven false. It actually occurred last month in Canton — about 150 miles north of Springfield — and the woman was arrested for animal cruelty.

The photo that's also drawing eyes and reaction on social media shows a man in a crosswalk holding a goose. The animal appears dead and the man is accused of having taken it from a local Springfield park and killed it for food. The photo was actually captured in Columbus.

​"We know ourselves as Haitian people and we can say that, uh-uh," said Rose Thamar-Jospeh with Springfield's Haitian Community Help Center.

After moving to the city two years ago, Thamar-Jospeh helped establish the center, which opened its doors in April. She said the Haitian community in Springfield is disheartened by the claims circulating social media.

"I don't know where those rumors came from, but all I know is that they don't have any evidence of those rumors," she said. "But we also understand that we are in an electoral period and things happen, and I think this will pass."

However, claims of Haitian migrants harming animals and doing other illegal activities in Springfield are not new.

At an August city commission meeting, one 28-year-old resident made an impassioned plea to leaders to "get out here and do something."

"These Haitians are running into trash cans. They're running into buildings. They flipping cars in the middle of the street," Anthony Harris said. "I don't know how y'all can be comfortable with this. I don't know who's like, getting paid from it. (The migrants) are in the parks grabbing up ducks by the neck and cutting their head off and walking off with them and eating them."

Before that at an Aug. 13 meeting, one woman held back tears as she pleaded with leaders.

"I am done with what I'm seeing. It is so unsafe in my neighborhood anymore," she said. "It is so unsafe. I have men that cannot speak English in my front yard screaming at me, throwing mattresses in my front yard, throwing trash in my front yard. And — look at me. I weigh 95 pounds. I couldn't defend myself if I have to."

Despite the vocal frustrations from residents, Springfield Deputy Director of Public Safety and Operations Jason Via shared a statement with WCPO shutting down the claims.

"In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community. Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents' homes," the statement reads. "Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic."

Republican Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance is pushing back on the attempts to entirely debunk the claims.

Active on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the topic since earlier this week, Vance posted again Tuesday saying, "In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false."

In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false. Do you know…

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 10, 2024

Hours after Vance shared the post, former President Donald Trump also referred to the claim of the cat stolen, killed and eaten in Springfield during the presidential debate.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said. "The people that came in — they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there."

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the rumors are just that — rumors — and they're distracting from the real reason the growth of the Haitian population is impacting the community.

"Such as housing concerns, resources needed for our schools and our overwhelmed healthcare system," Rue said. "As it relates to driving, I said in a statement at the last meeting that I am just as concerned as all of you about the reckless operation out on our streets. Speeding and distracted driving of motor vehicles in our community."

Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have landed in the city in recent years, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets.

Under a federal program, the community has added an estimated 15,000 Haitian people since 2020. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he doesn't oppose the Temporary Protected Status program they arrived under, but said the federal government must do more to help impacted communities.

Ohio has already provided additional resources to Springfield to help with education and training for drivers, to pay for more vaccines and health screenings in schools and to enhance translation services, DeWine said.

“These dramatic surges impact every citizen of the community, every citizen,” he said, noting additional influxes are occurring in Findlay and Lima, Ohio. "Moms who have to wait hours in a waiting room with a sick child, everyone who drives on the streets, and it affects children who go to school in more crowded classrooms.”

On Wednesday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be dispatched to help local law enforcement with traffic issues that officials say have cropped up due to an increase in Haitians unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws using the roads. DeWine said he is also earmarking $2.5 million over two years to provide more primary healthcare through the county health department and private healthcare institutions.

On Wednesday afternoon, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck addressed the spotlight on the town, denouncing rumors and praising progress instead.