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Print This StoryAlleged Shoplifter Dies After Scuffle With Officer
Coroner Says Man Died Of Blunt Impact To Head
UPDATED: 12:25 p.m. EST November 14, 2002
MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A Cleveland man caught shoplifting at a local department store died of head injuries after fighting a security guard, according to officials.
Live On Five Investigator Jodi Brooks reported that the security guard, a police officer who was working off-duty, was once fired for violating policies regarding use of deadly force.
Police confirmed that Guy Wills, 41, (pictured, left) got hostile after Jameel Talley, a hired security guard, caught Wills allegedly shoplifting at Dillard's at Randall Park Mall Saturday afternoon.
Talley (pictured, below), also a Maple Heights police officer, has been on the force there for 18 months.
"(There are) no excessive force (incidents) in his files whatsoever," Maple Heights Police Chief Rich Maracz said. "He's been a good officer for us at that time."
Wills was taken to the hospital after the altercation and signed his own release form. He then went to the North Randall Police Department, where he got sick.
The officer wrote that Wills refused treatment and transportation to the emergency room.
Police eventually released Wills to his mother. She took him to an area hospital, where he went into a coma and died.
Before working at Dillard's and at the Maple Heights Police Department, Talley worked for the North Randall Police Department. He was fired in 2000 for violating the department's deadly-force policy for shooting at a fleeing shoplifter.
"We hire people who have been recommended by local police departments," said Skip Rutherford, a Dillard's spokesman.
Shortly after Talley lost his job, the North Randall mayor sent what he called a "second chance" letter to Maple Heights, saying Talley should not have been fired. The mayor said he "erred in judgment" and "recommends 100 percent (that) Talley continue his career in law enforcement."
The coroner's official ruling is that Wills died from head injuries. He had internal bleeding and bruising, a fractured skull and a broken left collarbone.
Talley has been placed on paid administrative leave.
The city prosecutor is reviewing the case.
Live On Five Investigator Jodi Brooks reported that the security guard, a police officer who was working off-duty, was once fired for violating policies regarding use of deadly force.
Police confirmed that Guy Wills, 41, (pictured, left) got hostile after Jameel Talley, a hired security guard, caught Wills allegedly shoplifting at Dillard's at Randall Park Mall Saturday afternoon.
Talley (pictured, below), also a Maple Heights police officer, has been on the force there for 18 months.
"(There are) no excessive force (incidents) in his files whatsoever," Maple Heights Police Chief Rich Maracz said. "He's been a good officer for us at that time."
Wills was taken to the hospital after the altercation and signed his own release form. He then went to the North Randall Police Department, where he got sick.
The officer wrote that Wills refused treatment and transportation to the emergency room.
Police eventually released Wills to his mother. She took him to an area hospital, where he went into a coma and died.
Before working at Dillard's and at the Maple Heights Police Department, Talley worked for the North Randall Police Department. He was fired in 2000 for violating the department's deadly-force policy for shooting at a fleeing shoplifter.
"We hire people who have been recommended by local police departments," said Skip Rutherford, a Dillard's spokesman.
Shortly after Talley lost his job, the North Randall mayor sent what he called a "second chance" letter to Maple Heights, saying Talley should not have been fired. The mayor said he "erred in judgment" and "recommends 100 percent (that) Talley continue his career in law enforcement."
The coroner's official ruling is that Wills died from head injuries. He had internal bleeding and bruising, a fractured skull and a broken left collarbone.
Talley has been placed on paid administrative leave.
The city prosecutor is reviewing the case.
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