海角破解版

Cleveland Chief of Police Calvin Williams has cleared supervisors of wrongdoing for failing to stop the December 2020 police chase that led to the death of 13-year-old Tamia Chappman. The civilian agency that investigates complaints against Cleveland police officers is appealing the decision.

In an April meeting, the Civilian Police Review Board recommended discipline for four officers. Two were patrol officers and two were supervisors overseeing the pursuit.

One of the patrol officers was Christian Stipkovich, who initiated the pursuit of a suspect from the West Side of Cleveland across town and into East Cleveland, where the suspect鈥檚 car struck Chappman, who was walking from school to the library. The other was Dustin Miller, who joined the pursuit without approval from a supervisor.

The two supervisors were Sgt. Michael Chapman and Lt. Gregory Farmer. Both were cited by the board for failing to properly oversee the pursuit and, in the case of Chapman, for failing to check that the each Cleveland police vehicle is supposed to have was functioning and for failing to monitor it during the pursuit.

Investigators later found that, at the time of the pursuit, only eight of the more than 300 Cleveland police vehicles were equipped with functioning locators, known as Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVLs).

鈥淒uring our interview with Chapman, we spent between 40 minutes and an hour trying to establish what was known about exactly how many officers were involved in the pursuit,鈥� Office of Professional Standards Administrator Roger Smith said Tuesday during an interview with 海角破解版. 鈥淗ow can you supervise a pursuit and not know that? That鈥檚 why you need working AVLs.鈥�

The board鈥檚 recommendations went to Williams, who declined to discipline Chapman or Farmer for failing to stop the chase. The chief did uphold one charge against Chapman for failing to check the vehicle locator at the start of his shift.

According to Smith, the police department sent the decision to his office Monday afternoon, too late for it to appear on the public agenda for Tuesday鈥檚 meeting.

Smith also said Stipkovich has since resigned from the department and Williams has not yet made a decision in Miller鈥檚 case.

The rationale for Williams鈥� decision on the supervisors is unclear. A police spokeswoman declined to comment until the board鈥檚 appeal has been considered by Safety Director Karrie Howard.

But during Tuesday鈥檚 meeting of the Civilian Police Review Board, Smith relayed the rationale behind Williams鈥� decision to the board.

鈥淚n the decision, [Williams] cited what he claimed were nearly ideal road and traffic conditions,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淕laringly omitted from the decision was any reference to the speed at which the officers were travelling.鈥�

Investigators from Smith鈥檚 office used a report on the chase provided by the Eastside Department Group Enforcement, a group of East Side suburban police departments known as EDGE.

The report included analysis of a surveillance video from a Cleveland Clinic building on Euclid Avenue, which calculated the suspect vehicle was traveling at 90 miles an hour when it passed the camera. Stipkovich鈥檚 vehicle was pursuing at 89.9 miles per hour and Miller at close to 85 miles an hour.

That information was not included in the department鈥檚 review of the pursuit, which instead used speeds and locations reported by officers during the pursuit.

鈥淭hese decisions do not represent diligent discipline by the department,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭hey were designed, dedicated and delivered for the defense interests of the city.鈥�