By ideastream's Brian Bull
Cleveland officials have disciplined 12 of 13 police officers involved in the infamous “137 Shots” incident of November 29, 2012.
Six officers have been fired, including Michael Brelo. He was acquitted in May 2015 for his actions in the chase and shootout that killed Timothy Russell and his passenger, Malissa Williams. Neither was armed.
Public Safety Director Mike McGrath says the other officers six will be suspended, with the potential to return to the streets after being retrained.
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.
“There’s a lot to be done between now and the officers involved in this to be judged fit enough to go back out there and serve the city," said Williams. "There’s a lot to be done on our end as a division, to assist these officers in getting to that level. And there’s a lot to be done by the officers themselves to Insure they we have right mentality, the right mindset, to go back out there and do a job for the city."
Steve Loomis, President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmens Association, says the police response was justified and calls the city’s presentation “nonsense”. He’s vowed to help the fired officers get their jobs back through arbitration.
The last officer involved in the incident retired late last year.