CLEVELAND (AP) - A man was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer Thursday morning when he pulled a gun from his waistband as officers tried to arrest him on a murder warrant, Police Chief Calvin Williams said.
Officers initially responded to a resident’s call about the man around 4 a.m. Thursday and returned about four hours later, Williams said. A gun was found near the man’s body, Williams said.
The 25-year-old man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was wanted for a homicide that occurred about eight blocks from where he was killed, Williams said.
The man was shot after turning toward the officer and pulling out the gun, Williams said. The officer, a 10-year veteran, has not been identified.
“This is a person who has been terrorizing the city,” Cleveland Safety Director Karrie Howard said at the briefing. “Unfortunately it ended this way, but it’s the product of gun violence.”
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting with assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Sheriff Christopher Viland said the Ohio Attorney General’s Office will review the investigation after it’s completed.
All the officers who responded had activated their body cameras, Williams said. He urged people not to “conflate” Thursday’s shooting with other police shootings in the U.S.
“With everything going around the country, the officers are definitely going through some things and wondering what’s going to happen,” Williams said. “I can say with this incident here, they did what they’re supposed to do. They protected themselves and, more importantly, they came out here to protect our community.” __ This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the first name of the Cleveland safety director. It is Karrie, not Carrie.
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