Police: Suspect yelled at Cleveland officers to shoot him

CLEVELAND (AP) — Police say a 64-year-old man shot and killed by officers late Tuesday challenged police to shoot him after he’d fired twice at them, striking one officer in the chest area of his ballistic vest.

A police spokesman says in a statement that officers did not initially return fire but instead “pleaded” with Theodore Johnson to drop the .45-caliber handgun he wielded. The confrontation occurred around a stairway in a common area of the two-family home. Johnson lived upstairs.

Police say Johnson continued down the stairs, yelled at the officers to shoot him and raised the weapon toward the officers, who responding by firing a total of five rounds.

The officer shot in the vest was treated at a hospital. The department’s use-of-force team is investigating the shooting.