137 Shots to Kill Unarmed Couple

Thoughts?

Ohio police fire 137 rounds at unarmed couple

• Police abuse
• December 12, 2012
• By: Lou Colagiovanni

 

 

Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, were followed by Cleveland police for nearly 25 minutes before their chase ended in a hail of gunfire when law enforcement unloaded a confirmed 137 bullets into the stopped vehicle they both occupied. Immediately after the shooting it was confirmed that neither Russel nor Williams possessed a firearm.

The nation is stirring with the news that police used an obvious amount of excessive force in a case where the preliminary evidence is lacking in appearance for justification. The Attorney General of Ohio, Mike Dewine, is heading up the investigation and says the incident will be throughly looked into.

The shooting started when two officers allege they heard "something that sounded like gunshots." In the moment officers returned fire, which prompted the others on the scene to also fire their weapons. When the smoke cleared both of the vehicle's passengers were dead. Timothy Russell was struck 23 times, while his female companion was shot 24 times.

Officers involved in the shooting will likely not walk away from the incident unscathed because of a policy enacted by Mayor Frank Jackson in 2006. According to newsnet5.com the order from The Mayor's Office is that officers "shall not unreasonably place themselves in a position where a threat of imminent danger or death or physical injury is created when attempting to stop a motor vehicle or apprehend a felony suspect."

The language of the policy means that even if an officer's life was in danger, the officer should not have put themselves in danger to make a traffic stop, and therefore certainly should have been in a position to shoot anyone.

The investigation continues.

http://www.examiner.com/article/ohio-police-fire-137-rounds-at-unarmed-couple