Prosecutor Rules Cleveland Police Shooting Justified

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office released video on October 6 showing the moments when a Cleveland police officer was shot and the suspect was fatally shot by officers. The prosecutor ruled the March 11 shooting by four officers was justified in part because of the evidence on the body camera videos, according to local media.

The video shows the moment Theodore Johnson, 64, shot Officer David Muniz as officers arrived at his residence. The video also shows officers trying to get Johnson to put down the gun, but Johnson repeatedly says he wants to die. Officers tell him that they will get him the help he needs. “I know you shot me, but I’m not going to shoot you,” Muniz says on the video. Johnson then raises a gun, and officers shoot him.

Muniz was wearing a protective vest at the time of the shooting.

The prosecutor sent a letter on October 6 to Cleveland’s police chief about the shooting being justified. In it he wrote the officers “showed remarkable restraint and went above and beyond their duty” in trying to end the standoff peacefully.

Cleveland.com reported officers had arrived at the home because Johnson’s wife, Juliette Johnson, had gone to the police precinct to report Johnson was drinking, waving a gun and threatening her and their landlord. Credit: Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office