VIDEO: Animation depicts events of deadly Cleveland chase & shooting that ended with 2 suspects dead

CLEVELAND - The Ohio Attorney General’s Office released an animation Friday that shows how investigators believe the chase-turned-deadly shooting unfolded.

The chase started on the night of Nov. 29 near police headquarters downtown when an officer said he heard a gunshot come from a car.

A 22-minute chase then ensued through the city, exceeding 100 mph at points and ending in an East Cleveland school parking lot. Investigators said as the suspect vehicle turned around, the driver rammed a police cruiser and 13 officers fired 137 shots at the two people inside the car.

Officers later said in interviews with investigators they thought the people inside the car were armed and firing at them.

Driver Timothy Russell, 43, and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, were both killed by police gunfire in the incident. The investigation revealed that there was no gun in their vehicle at the time of the shooting, and none was found along the chase route.

The toxicology report indicated that both Russell and Williams had cocaine in their system, and it was most likely smoked.

The animation starts at 10:55 p.m. that night and shows the access drive and staff parking lot at Heritage Middle School.

According to the AG’s office, the animation only depicts the officers who discharged their weapons during the incident. Their positions are shown based on their statements during interviews with investigators, not based on physical evidence from the scene.

The animators included audio from channel 2 of the Cleveland police radios, and included audio from the Bratenahl police dash camera.

The AG’s office also included this disclaimer:
" Shot sequencing was unable to be determined with any degree of certainty. Therefore, the individual shot sequencing in the animation is for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect the actual timing and order of individual shots by officers. Further, the accuracy of the animation has not been validated by the involved officers subsequent to its creation."

"I just don't think it does justice to the, the human drama that was unfolding there," said Pat D' Angelo, attorney for the Cleveland Police Union. D'Angelo told NewsChannel5 in a phone interview Friday, he saw a portion of the animation and said it still doesn't answer what he described to be perhaps the most important question.

"Five cars in the pursuit or 50 cars in the pursuit, what matters is, at the time the officers used deadly force, were they operating within the bounds of the law," said D'Angelo.

On Tuesday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine released the findings of the state’s investigation into the incident, calling the events that unfolded a “systemic failure” in the police department.

Chief Michael McGrath said the department is continuing its internal investigation into the incident, but denied that the incident was “systemic” and said that any officers who violated policy will be dealt with appropriately.

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Reporter Stephanie Ramirez contributed to this story.