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Cleveland police too quick to use deadly force, Justice Department says
Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | 12/5/2014 | Ryllie Danylko

Posted on 12/05/2014 10:51:03 AM PST by EBH

The growing distrust between Cleveland police and the communities they serve can be attributed in part to how quickly officers draw their weapons without trying to use words to calm tense situations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the Cleveland Division of Police.

In addition to finding that police often fire their weapons recklessly, the report called out police for using deadly force or less lethal force as their first approach rather than a last resort, even in cases where a suspect is mentally disabled.

"We...discovered that officers do not effectively de-escalate situations, either because they do not know how, or because they do not have an adequate understanding of the importance of de-escalating encounters before resorting to force whenever possible," the report says.

These practices have become routine in a police culture that encourages using force as punishment - a pattern that's not only illegal but also puts a strain on police-citizen relations, according to the Justice Department.

(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government
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Sidebar headlines on Cleveland.com

Cleveland uses flawed system for reviewing police conduct, Justice Department says

Cleveland police use cruel, excessive force against mentally, medically ill

1 posted on 12/05/2014 10:51:03 AM PST by EBH
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To: EBH

If you deescalate a situation then you don’t get to put a notch on your gun.


2 posted on 12/05/2014 10:52:49 AM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: EBH

So what happened to tasers? Wasn’t their non-lethality precisely the argument that LEOs were making when they wanted to add them to their arsenals?


3 posted on 12/05/2014 10:53:20 AM PST by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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To: EBH

They watch too many Hollywood cop movies and this is their real training. We need police but we do not need unnecessary bulling and shooting. Dogs are now fair game.


4 posted on 12/05/2014 10:57:17 AM PST by Logical me
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To: EBH

What are the odds this report will make Cleveland more safe for law-abiding citizens?


5 posted on 12/05/2014 10:58:04 AM PST by grania
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To: EBH

Wasn’t it Obama who once said, “Words...just words...”?


6 posted on 12/05/2014 10:58:36 AM PST by FrankR (They will become our ultimate masters the day we surrender the 2nd Amendment.)
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To: Timber Rattler

But then there was an incident where an officer, claimedly intending to tase a subject, shot the subject instead. Having both gun and taser can confuse.


7 posted on 12/05/2014 10:59:19 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Timber Rattler

That’s the game. Everything is too dangerous so police must be left doing nothing. Then the same idiots who scream about aggressive police can complain about police not doing enough.


8 posted on 12/05/2014 10:59:41 AM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: EBH; All

A glaring Omission in this article.

How many Cleveland police have been killed and injured in the last five years???


9 posted on 12/05/2014 11:04:41 AM PST by tcrlaf (They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
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To: EBH
Justice Department says...

There's the problem.

10 posted on 12/05/2014 11:10:42 AM PST by McGruff (I'm thinkin)
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To: EBH
As Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner) says of his brother Virgil Bill Pullman), who got shot by being reluctant to draw his gun, "He's a little too affable."

Leave it to the man on the spot to judge, and don't push him to be a little bit too friendly. It could cost him his life.

(Just sayin' --)

11 posted on 12/05/2014 11:14:27 AM PST by imardmd1 (Fiat Lux)
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To: McGruff

Just Us Dept.....Like FUBU.....


12 posted on 12/05/2014 11:22:42 AM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
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To: EBH; All
Let's not dismiss these allegation out of hand.

Let's see what evidence is cited in the DOJ report, and what Cleveland has to say (refute?) about it.

NOBODY wants a bunch of trigger happy cops. Nobody.

13 posted on 12/05/2014 11:37:33 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Mariner

Justice Department vs Cleveland Police

A pox on both their houses.


14 posted on 12/05/2014 11:38:41 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: EBH
Ohio Down Memorial Page

Line of Duty Deaths: 106
Animal related: 1
Assault: 2
Automobile accident: 6
Duty related illness: 2
Electrocuted: 1
Fall: 1
Fire: 1
Gunfire: 74
Heart attack: 2
Motorcycle accident: 8
Stabbed: 2
Struck by train: 2
Struck by vehicle: 2
Vehicle pursuit: 1
Vehicular assault: 1

(just going back to 1980)

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Police Officer Derek Wayne Owens Cleveland Police Department EOW: Saturday, March 1, 2008 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Police Officer Jonathan James "AJ" Schroeder Cleveland Police Department EOW: Thursday, August 31, 2006 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Police Officer Wayne A. Leon Cleveland Police Department EOW: Sunday, June 25, 2000 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Detective Robert James Clark, II Cleveland Police Department EOW: Wednesday, July 1, 1998 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrol Officer Hilary S. Cudnik Cleveland Police Department EOW: Monday, December 30, 1996 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrol Officer Edward Claybrooks Cleveland Police Department EOW: Saturday, December 28, 1996 Cause: Heart attack

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrolman Thomas J. Smith Cleveland Police Department EOW: Tuesday, March 9, 1993 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrolman Ernest Cecil Holbert Cleveland Police Department EOW: Tuesday, October 27, 1987 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrolman Stephen M. Kovach Cleveland Police Department EOW: Sunday, March 11, 1984 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Patrolman Benjamin F. Grair, Jr. Cleveland Police Department EOW: Friday, August 5, 1983 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Police Officer Anthony Jerome Johnson Cleveland Police Department EOW: Wednesday, October 21, 1981 Cause: Gunfire

Cleveland Police Department, Ohio Officer Desmond Sherry Cleveland Police Department EOW: Thursday, July 3, 1980 Cause: Gunfire


15 posted on 12/05/2014 11:38:58 AM PST by mmichaels1970
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To: EBH

If the cop had been shot dead, the Injustice Dept would not have said a word.


16 posted on 12/05/2014 11:41:01 AM PST by armydawg505
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To: Mariner

I agree with you there. Nobody wants trigger happy cops.

But, people are scared of the police. And while the blacks think it is only them who are afraid of the cops, they might be surprised to learn they are not alone in that regard.

Ask anyone who had their family dog shot by cops...

It seems everything the cops do is justifiable in some way and that is dangerous.

My brother was killed by Cleveland cops. Shot 3 times. What did he do to get shot? Ran at them with a handful of plastic forks. Really...plastic forks.


17 posted on 12/05/2014 11:48:38 AM PST by EBH (And the angel poured out his cup...)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Yes. That was Oscar Grant at the Bart station in San Francisco in 2009, new years eve. He was face down and slightly resisting. The officer wanted to put a stop to that and wanted to taze him, but shot him in the back instead. The officer got 18 months for negligent homocide, and is out and back at work.


18 posted on 12/05/2014 12:07:16 PM PST by christx30 (Freedom above all.)
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To: EBH

I can’t believe there are people here who actually trust a report from Holder’s justice department.

Come on, wake the frick up.


19 posted on 12/05/2014 12:14:44 PM PST by Cubs Fan (The ferguson rioters, looters and arsonists are DOMESTIC LEFT WING TERRORISTS)
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To: driftdiver
If you escalate a situation then you don’t get to put a notch on your gun.

And if the talk thing fails; the copper may get shot, cut, dropped...

Why the gentle giant just wanted to check out Officer Wilson's weapon. He wouldn't hurt a fly.

20 posted on 12/05/2014 12:32:25 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT (The best is the enemy of the good.)
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