BCI finishes up first round of Cleveland police interviews while victim's family grieves

CLEVELAND - Interviews with the 13 officers who fired their guns in the Cleveland Police chase and shooting late last month are complete. That’s according to Jeff Follmer, who is head of the police union.

“The 13 are having a rough time. In these interviews, we’ve had a lot of people crying, a lot of people saying this is the worst they’d ever been involved with,” said Follmer, who sits in on all of the interviews.

The union chief added that interviews with the 10 to 15 officers who didn’t use deadly force in the incident should be finished by Thursday.

“They (the officers) heard the shots at their cars, and they got down and feared that they were being shot at,” he added.

All interviews, which each last about an hour, are conducted at the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. BCI is the lead agency on the investigation.

Meanwhile, the family of Malissa Williams is demanding answers surrounding her death.

Cleveland police fired 137 rounds at Williams and her friend, Timothy Russell, late last month, killing the two after the high-speed chase that started in Cleveland and ended in East Cleveland.

“We do want to get to the bottom of this,” said Walter Jackson, Williams’ uncle.

The Williams family said they would like to hear from Cleveland’s mayor and the police department. They did receive a call from East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton, Jr., Tuesday offering his condolences.

“It’s been real hard for the family,” added Jackson.

The Williams family said they’re in touch with the Russell family for support.

Williams’ funeral will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the Integrated Faith Assembly church on Morison Avenue in Cleveland. The family is requesting an open casket.

“We just want the people to see what type of brutality is going on in the city of Cleveland,” said Jackson.

Williams’ mother, Martha, said her daughter lost her left eye in the shooting.

“I’m very angry,” she said.