Cuyahoga County will handle Cleveland police chase shooting, not ask for special prosecutor

CLEVELAND - The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office will not ask for a special attorney in the case of two people shot and killed by Cleveland police after a chase.

On Nov. 29, a chase began near the Cuyahoga County Justice Center and last for nearly 25 minutes. It ended behind Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland. That’s where Cleveland police officers fired 137 rounds, killing 30-year-old Malissa Williams and 43-year-old Timothy Russell.

While the Cleveland Chapter of the ACLU asked Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to appoint a special prosecutor, Timothy McGinty’s office said they will be handling the investigation.

"Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, requests for special prosecutors must be made by a county prosecuting attorney. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office must be appointed in order to become involved as a special prosecutor. The Attorney General has no independent authority to appoint a special prosecutor absent a request from a county prosecuting attorney," DeWine's office said in a statement last month.

The Cleveland Police Patrolman Association endorsed prosecutor McGinty when he ran, and was successfully elected, in November.