Cleveland police release body camera video of officer shooting suspect outside of nightclub
By: Body camera video has been released by the Cleveland Division of Police showing a sergeant shooting a suspect outside a nightclub on the city's west side last weekend.
According to police, the incident began with two men involved in an altercation inside of Belinda's Night Club on Madison Avenue at around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Once outside of the club, Cleveland police say the victim, a 28-year-old man, was being chased by a 34-year-old man. In its incident report, police refer to the 34-year-old as the suspect.
Body camera footage shows the police sergeant doing paperwork in his vehicle outside of the club as the fighting began. When he hears yelling nearby, the officer calls out, "what are you guys doing?" As he honked his horn, shots began to ring out.
The officer got out of his car and yelled out to a man on his right to "put your gun down, put your gun down." He then fired several shots at the suspect, repeating his command to put the gun down.
The sequence from when the commotion began in the video until when the sergeant fired took just 16 seconds.
After the shooting, the officer started to walk across the street and makes a call that he needs assistance at Belinda's. "I got a male down. Male down," he said. As he works closer to the suspect, several observers start to enter the scene, wanting to assist the fallen man.
"I'm going to help him," the sergeant said to the group. "I'm going to help him. Please stand back." At least five people are seeking to get closer to the suspect as the officer calls for EMS to arrive.
"Nobody is against you," one of the witnesses tells the officer. "He shot first," others are heard saying.
Approximately two minutes after the incident began, a Cleveland Division of Fire truck is at the scene with a firefighter coming out to provide medical assistance to the suspect. The victim was found shot a few yards further down the street.
Meanwhile, one of the witnesses tells police that the man who the sergeant shot had been shot at first in the parking lot of the club. "The guy that ran, he shot first in the parking lot," the witness states. "Then he (the man police shot) shot back."