From the Metro Desk of Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com, Ohio's No 1 and No 2 online Black news venues (www.clevelandurbannews.com)
Below is an April 25 national and international news article on the upcoming Monday, April 29, 6 pm mass protest at Cleveland City Hall by community activists and victims families as to deadly Cleveland police shootings of unarmed people, including 137 bullets Black victims Malissa Williams, 30, and Tim Russell Russell, 43 (both pictured above). The below article is published by both Yahoo News.Com and the Reuters European Newspaper, one of the world's oldest newspapers that is headquartered in London and the United Kingdom with thousands of reporters, some stationed throughout the U.S (Note: The mass rally will also address Cleveland police unjustified killings like aspiring rapper Kenneth Smith, 20, (music name Kenneth Ball), Daniel Ficker, 27, and the unsolved rape and murders in Cleveland of Jazmine Trotter, 20, and Christine Malone, 45. Rally sponsoring groups include The Imperial Women, Black on Black Crime Inc., The Task Force for Community Mobilization, The Oppressed People's Nation (OPN), Ohio Family Rights, The Cleveland African-American Museum, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, The Audacity of Hope Foundation, The People's Forum, The Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, The Cleveland Black Contractor's Group,The Carl Stokes Brigade, The Cleveland Chapter of the New Black Panther Party, The National Organization for Parental Equality, The Family Connection Center, and Peace in the Hood. For more information on the rally contact Black on Black Crime Inc. at 216-253-4070, Peace in the Hood at 216-538-4043, The Audacity of Hope Foundation at 216-355-3374, or The Imperial Women at 216-659-0473. Rally sponsors urge protesters to bring protest signs. Protesters will attend the 7 pm Cleveland City Council meeting after the rally. Reuters reporter Kim Palmer, who wrote the below article, said that she will also cover the April 26 Cleveland City Hall rally).
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Protest planned over Cleveland police response to deadly chase
CLEVELAND |
(Reuters) - Cleveland community activists are planning to protest against what they see as the use of excessive force by city police after a review found 100 officers broke rules in a car chase in which an unarmed driver and his passenger were shot dead.
Activist Kathy Wray Coleman told Reuters on Thursday that residents plan a rally on Monday to demand police officers involved in the chase receive appropriate punishment and the city take action against the problem of excessive force.
"People are saying some of the cops might only get a 10-day suspension," activist Kathy Wray Coleman told Reuters. "We want them fired, prosecuted and brought to justice."
Five months after Cleveland police shot dead an unarmed driver and his passenger following a high-speed chase that involved 63 police cars, more than 100 police officers could face suspension or termination, an internal police review showed on Wednesday.
The incident, which stemmed from a routine traffic stop, aggravated public concerns over possible excessive use of force by Cleveland police officers, particularly in the city's African-American community. The pair who died were both black.
It also prompted the city's mayor, Frank Jackson, to request a review of Cleveland police procedure by the U.S. Justice Department. The federal review into a possible pattern of excessive force is ongoing.
Some 100 officers face possible suspension or termination for violations of department policy, including endangering pedestrians in the car chase and subsequent shootout that killed Timothy Russell and his passenger, Marissa Williams.
"Where we found policy and rule violations, we will hold officers accountable," said Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath on Wednesday, adding that he expected to announce individual disciplinary actions in a few weeks.
The chase stemmed from a traffic stop that Russell fled in his 1979 Chevy with Williams. As Russell drove, several officers reported hearing what they thought were multiple gunshots. CLICK THIS LINK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT REUTERS.COM
