Cleveland police: Tamir Rice, Tanesha Anderson and other times police used excessive force

The Justice Department has reached agreement with Cleveland police on reforms after history of excessive force

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The city of Cleveland has reached an agreement with the US Justice Department on police reforms aimed at helping reverse what has been called a pattern of excessive use of force.

It is a well-documented pattern with no shortage of examples. There is Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was killed for carrying a pellet gun on a playground. There also is Tanesha Anderson, a schizophrenic woman who was killed when police slammed her on the pavement outside her family home.

And those are just two of the most high-profile examples. See below for further examples.

Cleveland has agreed to document every time a police officer uses their guns or executes a search and seizure, as well as put more emphasis on community policing. The agreement with the Justice Department was announced on Tuesday.

“This is a defining moment for the city of Cleveland to find out who we are — the city of Cleveland,” said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. “Peaceful dialogue can make a lasting change for the city of Cleveland. “

Other incidents of excessive force by Cleveland police, as noted in a Justice Department report, include:

Randall Scott Jr.

Mr Scott was shot in the stomach by a police officer in 2012 after he was stopped for carrying an open container of beer. He initially refused to stop for officers, but eventually sat on a porch facing the officers. He had a – legal – gun in his waistband and was shot when officers were trying to handcuff him for lowering his hands, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Germaine Ware

Mr Ware was shot in the back as he drove away from police in 2010. Officers had responded to a call reporting him making threatening calls to his ex-girlfriend. Mr Ware tried to flee the scene, brushing against an officer, who fired after the vehicle.

Others (not specifically named in Justice Department report)

The Justice Department report found that Cleveland police used pepper spray on a handcuffed, mentally ill man; used a Taser on a deaf, suicidal man; beat and Tasered a subdued teenager; used a Taser on a man strapped to a gurney in an ambulance; and fired 24 shots in a residential area trying to shoot a walking man.

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