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13 Officers Placed on Leave after Pursuit; Union Slams Police Chief: "It's Bull****"
Pretty interesting story developing here in Ohio:
The chase began about 10:30 p.m. Thursday outside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland. In a news conference Saturday, Union President Jeff Follmer said two Cleveland officers heard a gunshot and believed it came from a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu belonging to Timothy Russell.
Russell, with Williams in his car, sped away.
The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation has assigned two agents to assist the East Cleveland Police Department in unraveling what happened in the 26 minutes between when Cleveland officers heard a gunshot outside the Justice Center and Russell, 43, and Williams, 30, died in a hail of bullets.
Pathologists at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office removed 20 rounds from Russell’s body and 16 from Williams’ body. They both had additional wounds from bullets that entered and exited their bodies — Russell had 30 wounds, Williams had 20, an investigator said.
Russell had driven from downtown on Interstate 90 east through Bratenahl at speeds of up to 100 mph and rammed a police car before he exited the freeway and headed into East Cleveland, Gardner said.
During the chase on the highway, an officer reported also seeing something in the passenger’s hands, Gardner said.
Russell ended up on a dead-end access road to an East Cleveland middle school.
There, a dozen officers from Bratenahl PD, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office converged with the 13 Cleveland officers. 137 rounds were fired.
They surrounded the Malibu, and some officers were out of their cars when Russell rammed another police car, Gardner said.
In the news conference, Follmer described it more forcefully. Russell “violently rammed a police car and almost struck an officer,†he said.
Police are trained to use deadly force to stop a suspect from using a vehicle as a weapon. They opened fire.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office is running gunshot-residue tests on Russell’s and Williams’ hands to determine if either fired a gun. The results should be in before week’s end.
No gun was found in Russell’s car or along the chase route. No bullet or casing was found outside the Justice Center.
The apparent uncertainty over whether police knew who they were chasing is one among a multitude of questions hanging over the incident.
There appear to be many others, including from why the officers fired at all — there was no gun was found in the car — to why they fired so many shots, to whether one of the suspects had first fired a gun,
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Today, more three days after the pursuit, investigators are still searching the chase route looking for any firearms that may have been tossed during the pursuit.
The police chief and the media have really slammed these officers:
And the Union President’s response:
I gotta say, I really like this Union. The officers have somebody who is passionately looking out for them.
The chase began about 10:30 p.m. Thursday outside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland. In a news conference Saturday, Union President Jeff Follmer said two Cleveland officers heard a gunshot and believed it came from a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu belonging to Timothy Russell.
Russell, with Williams in his car, sped away.
The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation has assigned two agents to assist the East Cleveland Police Department in unraveling what happened in the 26 minutes between when Cleveland officers heard a gunshot outside the Justice Center and Russell, 43, and Williams, 30, died in a hail of bullets.
Pathologists at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office removed 20 rounds from Russell’s body and 16 from Williams’ body. They both had additional wounds from bullets that entered and exited their bodies — Russell had 30 wounds, Williams had 20, an investigator said.
Russell had driven from downtown on Interstate 90 east through Bratenahl at speeds of up to 100 mph and rammed a police car before he exited the freeway and headed into East Cleveland, Gardner said.
During the chase on the highway, an officer reported also seeing something in the passenger’s hands, Gardner said.
Russell ended up on a dead-end access road to an East Cleveland middle school.
There, a dozen officers from Bratenahl PD, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office converged with the 13 Cleveland officers. 137 rounds were fired.
They surrounded the Malibu, and some officers were out of their cars when Russell rammed another police car, Gardner said.
In the news conference, Follmer described it more forcefully. Russell “violently rammed a police car and almost struck an officer,†he said.
Police are trained to use deadly force to stop a suspect from using a vehicle as a weapon. They opened fire.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office is running gunshot-residue tests on Russell’s and Williams’ hands to determine if either fired a gun. The results should be in before week’s end.
No gun was found in Russell’s car or along the chase route. No bullet or casing was found outside the Justice Center.
The apparent uncertainty over whether police knew who they were chasing is one among a multitude of questions hanging over the incident.
There appear to be many others, including from why the officers fired at all — there was no gun was found in the car — to why they fired so many shots, to whether one of the suspects had first fired a gun,
------------
Today, more three days after the pursuit, investigators are still searching the chase route looking for any firearms that may have been tossed during the pursuit.
The police chief and the media have really slammed these officers:
“It’s really with a heavy heart. I can’t tell you how much this hurts the Cleveland Division of Police,†McGrath said at a news conference. “We work so hard. We worked so hard to make things good. Something like this, I’m not saying it makes us look bad because the investigation isn’t completed yet, but it’s a real challenge for us.â€
At some point during the investigation, McGrath said the city will reach out to the U.S. attorney's office and also the FBI "to ask for the assistance, recommendations from the Civil Right division."
"Why are we doing it? Because it's the right thing to do," he said. "And we will provide support not just for our police officers but for the community."
At some point during the investigation, McGrath said the city will reach out to the U.S. attorney's office and also the FBI "to ask for the assistance, recommendations from the Civil Right division."
"Why are we doing it? Because it's the right thing to do," he said. "And we will provide support not just for our police officers but for the community."
"[In] my eyes, everybody did great. It was a good job on the pursuit, no innocent people got hurt but like I said, I just go back to saying again they could've stopped at any point …
"I don't understand why the "bad guys" aren't still bad, and now it's the police officers. It's bull****," a heated Union President, Detective Jeff Follmer, told reporters at a Saturday press conference.
Follmer kept reiterating how unhappy he is with the remarks Cleveland's Police Chief, Michael McGrath, made towards this investigation in a joint East Cleveland and Cleveland Police press conference held Friday night.
Follmer, joined by a full room of uniformed and non-uniformed police officers, spoke-out Saturday saying they fully support the 13 Cleveland Police Officers and how they handled what Follmer described to be a "rapidly evolving situation."
“The officers involved are experienced and professional police officers,†he said. “For anyone who was not there to judge them without knowing all the facts, or to blame anyone else but the two occupants of that car for their own death, is ignorant and self-serving.â€
"I don't understand why the "bad guys" aren't still bad, and now it's the police officers. It's bull****," a heated Union President, Detective Jeff Follmer, told reporters at a Saturday press conference.
Follmer kept reiterating how unhappy he is with the remarks Cleveland's Police Chief, Michael McGrath, made towards this investigation in a joint East Cleveland and Cleveland Police press conference held Friday night.
Follmer, joined by a full room of uniformed and non-uniformed police officers, spoke-out Saturday saying they fully support the 13 Cleveland Police Officers and how they handled what Follmer described to be a "rapidly evolving situation."
“The officers involved are experienced and professional police officers,†he said. “For anyone who was not there to judge them without knowing all the facts, or to blame anyone else but the two occupants of that car for their own death, is ignorant and self-serving.â€
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