Charges dropped for 3 supervisors in East Cleveland police 137-shot case

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — A prosecutor has dropped misdemeanor charges against three of the five police supervisors accused of dereliction of duty for failing to control a high-speed chase that ended with two unarmed black people being killed in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire.

Cleveland.com reports East Cleveland Law Director Willa Hemmons announced the dismissals Wednesday, but did not provide an explanation. She says she’s preparing to try the other two supervisors’ cases.

Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams were killed in East Cleveland in November 2012 after a mileslong chase. Cleveland subsequently paid their families a total of $3 million to settle a lawsuit.

The supervisors were originally indicted in Cleveland. The case was moved to East Cleveland after the acquittal of a Cleveland police officer who fired 49 shots that night.