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White police officers involved in black couple's death sue Cleveland for racial discrimination
Source: The Guardian
White police officers involved in black couple's death sue Cleveland for racial discrimination
Amanda Holpuch in New York
theguardian.com, Monday 1 December 2014 18.34 GMT
Nine Cleveland police officers involved in a high-speed car chase that left two unarmed black people dead have sued the city’s police department for racial discrimination.
The November 2012 chase, which left two people dead after police fired 137 shots, prompted considerable scrutiny of the Cleveland police department’s use of force. Both those killed were unarmed. Criticism was renewed last week after officers shot dead a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, who was carrying a replica gun.
Eight white and one Hispanic officer are plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit. They claim the police department has repeatedly punished non-black officers more harshly than black officers in incidents involving shootings of black people.
Malissa Williams, 30, and Timothy Russell, 43, died after more than a dozen officers fired 137 shots at the pair’s car over the course of a police chase that went on for more than 20 minutes. Russell, the driver, was shot 23 times. Williams was shot 24 times. Last month, their families were awarded a $3m settlement from the city of Cleveland.
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Amanda Holpuch in New York
theguardian.com, Monday 1 December 2014 18.34 GMT
Nine Cleveland police officers involved in a high-speed car chase that left two unarmed black people dead have sued the city’s police department for racial discrimination.
The November 2012 chase, which left two people dead after police fired 137 shots, prompted considerable scrutiny of the Cleveland police department’s use of force. Both those killed were unarmed. Criticism was renewed last week after officers shot dead a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, who was carrying a replica gun.
Eight white and one Hispanic officer are plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit. They claim the police department has repeatedly punished non-black officers more harshly than black officers in incidents involving shootings of black people.
Malissa Williams, 30, and Timothy Russell, 43, died after more than a dozen officers fired 137 shots at the pair’s car over the course of a police chase that went on for more than 20 minutes. Russell, the driver, was shot 23 times. Williams was shot 24 times. Last month, their families were awarded a $3m settlement from the city of Cleveland.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/01/cleveland-police-unarmed-black-pair-lawsuit
3 replies
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And this is proven by those cops who were involved in and disciplined for that wrongful death incident were non-black? Well, huh.
Ok, add a 
and a 
The chase began after an officer thought he heard a gunshot from the car. Following a review of the incident, the department disciplined 64 of the 104 officers who were involved. One supervisor was fired and two were demoted. The nine officers in the lawsuit were suspended for three days and ordered to take a 45-day “cooling-off” period from active duty. They believe their punishment went further.
The officers say that after they returned to full duty, they were put back on restrictive duty until June 2014. The lawsuit claims this move was “politically expedient”. It also says the department restricted officers’ abilities to apply for promotions and transfers and resulted in lost wages. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.
“A serious dichotomy exists as a result of the defendants’ longstanding practices and procedures which place onerous burdens on non-African American officers, including the plaintiffs, because of their race and the race of persons who are the subjects of the legitimate use of deadly force,” the lawsuit says. It was filed in the US district court for the northern district of Ohio.
The car chase caused the US Department of Justice to open an investigation into Cleveland police and their use of “unreasonably deadly force” in several incidents.
The officers say that after they returned to full duty, they were put back on restrictive duty until June 2014. The lawsuit claims this move was “politically expedient”. It also says the department restricted officers’ abilities to apply for promotions and transfers and resulted in lost wages. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.
“A serious dichotomy exists as a result of the defendants’ longstanding practices and procedures which place onerous burdens on non-African American officers, including the plaintiffs, because of their race and the race of persons who are the subjects of the legitimate use of deadly force,” the lawsuit says. It was filed in the US district court for the northern district of Ohio.
The car chase caused the US Department of Justice to open an investigation into Cleveland police and their use of “unreasonably deadly force” in several incidents.
Here's hoping that this case gets laughed out of court. 
