Cleveland police officers fired chase

Russell was hit by 24 shots, Williams by 23.

Of the officers involved who weren’t fired, six were suspended and one has retired. Prosecutors said officers mistook the noise for gunshots, and a high-speed chase ensued. Seven received non-disciplinary letters, one received a written reprimand and three officers had their administrative charges dismissed.

The president of Cleveland’s largest police union says he will fight to have the officers reinstated. He described the firings as unbelievable, unprecedented and politically motivated.

Loomis promised that he will get the officers jobs back, and condemned the firings and suspensions as pure politics at its worst. “And we responded within our training“.

Other officers later joined in the chase. Many were cited for endangering other officers by creating a crossfire situation.

“It was very hard….” “If they didn’t comply with those particular general police orders or manual rules and regulations, I sustained charges“.

Lawyers for the officers argued that their clients had probable cause to believe the people in the auto were a safety threat, and noted that it was not determined until later that the car’s occupants were unarmed. Authorities never learned why the driver didn’t stop.

The police union previously said the discipline would be challenged during hearings.

Russell and Williams were both homeless with a history of mental illness and drug use, according to Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Last May, Brelo was found not guilty of two counts of voluntary manslaughter – in part because, as Eyder reported for the Two-Way, it was impossible to determine whose bullets had killed the pair.

Officers fired more that 130 shots into a vehicle that posed no threat…

The aunt of one of two people gunned down in a November 2012 police chase and shooting has forgiven the officers who killed her niece.

Officer Michael Brelo shot 47 times, including 15 times at close range when he climbed onto the hood of the Chevy Malibu carrying the couple.

Loomis said the officers were right to chase the auto because Russell fled at a high rate of speed. That’s after they fired 137 shots into a auto following a chase, killing two unarmed individuals.

It helped prompt an agreement between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice that is aimed at making reforms in the troubled police department.

It also paid a $3 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by relatives of Russell and Williams.

When asked if he felt comfortable having those officers back on the streets again someday, Cleveland Chief of Police Calvin Williams looked ahead to the future. Witnesses said they were most likely looking to buy drugs that night.