ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio
Keeping America Safe and Free
juvenile justice lgbt rights teen health immigrant rights government spying all issues
RSS Feeds
Email Alert (get information on the issues)
Calendar (see a full list of events)
Join Now (raise public awareness)
Donate Now (make a tax deductible gift)

Commentary on Cleveland Police Actions

On Thursday, September 1, 2005, Brandon McCloud died in his room after being shot 10 times by Cleveland police officers. The city of Cleveland -- and the Cuyahoga County prosecuting attorney -- need to conduct full, thorough, and unbiased investigations into this terrible tragedy.

It is vital to the city for the investigation to be administered outside of the Cleveland Police Department. The police cannot simply investigate themselves when no other people were in the room to witness this terrible event. Keeping an investigation completely in-house will only add to distrust in the African-American community.

This investigation must look into several possible issues with the action taken by the officers. The police must clarify immediately why a home invasion was necessary during night hours. If they were there simply to gather evidence, why could they not have come back during daytime hours when the search warrant could have been executed without the risk of injury to members of the household or the police?

If the boy was resisting the officers, why were non-force, or less-lethal force alternatives not used before firing their pistols? On first impression, the use of deadly force to confront a boy in his own bedroom at 5 in the morning seems excessive. If, for some reason, lethal force was needed, why would officers need to discharge 10 rounds into one 15 year old boy? The sheer amount of bullets discharged speak to panic or lack of control on the part of the police and may indicate a need for a change in policy.

Cleveland police have taken another young black man's life, and this tragedy requires the complete cooperation of the Cleveland police department, its officers, and the police union, with any and all investigating agencies.