Two Cleveland Police officers are facing potential suspensions for improperly firing their weapons at the car of a woman fleeing another shooting a block away in the city鈥檚 Glenville neighborhood last March.
That woman, Antwoina Carter, 26, of Cleveland, was killed.
The two patrol officers, Dylan O鈥橠onnell and Amanda Rock, are facing administrative charges through the police department's disciplinary system, according to documents obtained by 海角破解版. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office previously declined to charge the officers criminally.
In two 鈥淧re-disciplinary hearing鈥� letters sent April 25, 2025, the officers were each charged with using 鈥渇orce that was deemed to be not necessary, not proportional and not objectively reasonable鈥� when they fired at Carter鈥檚 vehicle.
According to the letter addressed to O'Donnell, an internal affairs investigation showed he fired five times without seeing the driver or verifying they were a threat. In a separate charge, O鈥橠onnell allegedly fired a shot that struck an occupied residence, 鈥渃reating a risk to the occupants of the residence.鈥�
Investigators found Rock fired four shots at Carter鈥檚 vehicle, according to the letter sent to her. One of her rounds was found in a patrol car at the scene.
Each officer faces one Group III charge, the most serious level, for excessive force, plus a Group II charge. Each Group II charge carries a 6-to-10 day suspension and Group III鈥檚 are punishable with a minimum 10-day suspension to termination.
Attempts to reach the officer through the union that represents Cleveland patrol officers were not successful.
The department issues pre-disciplinary hearing letters following an investigation by the internal affairs unit. The charges are based on findings from that investigation. In cases like this, where officers face a suspension of more than 10 days, the public safety director鈥檚 office makes the decision following a hearing. That hearing is currently scheduled for May 9 for both officers.
It鈥檚 been more than a year since Carter died near her mother鈥檚 house, following a call to police for assistance in the early hours of March 17. Officers O鈥橠onnell and Rock arrived at the house on Garfield Avenue about an hour later. By then, Carter had left the house.
As officers spoke with her family, Carter was driving down East 105th Street, surveillance and body camera footage released by the department shows.
The video shows a passenger in another vehicle firing at Carter after approaching her vehicle from behind as both drove along East 105th Street.
The officers, who had recently arrived at her mother's home, heard that gunfire, their body camera footage shows. Carter turned right onto Garfield, and her headlights became visible to the officers. The vehicle with the shooter in it continued down 105th.
The officers鈥� faces are not visible in the videos but, based on their voices, the male officer, O鈥橠onnell, can be seen standing on the sidewalk, next to the patrol vehicle, firing at Carter鈥檚 vehicle as it approaches. The other officer, apparently Rock, took cover behind the patrol vehicle and began firing after Carter sideswiped the car on her way past.
The woman at the residence can be heard shouting, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my daughter. You鈥檙e shooting at my daughter. That鈥檚 my daughter,鈥� as officers were firing at the car.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff鈥檚 Department investigated the shooting for potential criminal charges against the officers, based on Cleveland Police policy.
The results of that investigation went to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor鈥檚 office for potential charges. 海角破解版 has requested a copy of the sheriff鈥檚 report from both the county and city of Cleveland, but has not yet received a copy.
In a letter sent by Prosecutor Michael O鈥橫alley to Sheriff Harold Pretel on February 10, 2025, the prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers. In his letter, O鈥橫alley said they were both faced with a 鈥渟plit-second decision while under the impression, although mistaken, that the car that was speeding鈥� towards them posed a danger to both officers.
鈥淭his review is only concerned with the analysis of the reasonableness of Officer [redacted] and Officer [redacted]鈥檚 use of deadly force to determine whether under the United States Constitution and case law a crime was committed by their use of deadly force,鈥� O鈥橫alley wrote. 鈥淚t does not opine as to any potential internal policy violations, if any.鈥�
The names of the officers involved were initially redacted by both the city and prosecutor鈥檚 office because they were initially categorized as victims, because Carter鈥檚 vehicle sideswiped their patrol car.
Carter was not found to have fired any rounds at the officers.
In a statement issued March 21, 2024, the medical examiner鈥檚 office wrote Carter died from a 鈥済unshot wound of trunk with injuries of heart, lung, major vessel, and spine.鈥�
"Preliminary testing does not indicate that police activity was directly responsible for the decedent's death," wrote Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson.
The medical examiner鈥檚 office has not filled an Ideastream request for a copy of the autopsy report.
Two passengers in the car that fired at Carter on East 105th Street 鈥� Trinity Ford, 20, of Cleveland, and Christopher Stinson, 19, of Willowick 鈥� both pleaded guilty to reduced charges of involuntary manslaughter for Stinson and Ford and felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm for Stinson. Both were initially charged with murder, but that charge was later dropped.
Stinson was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison, court records show. Ford was sentenced to a minimum of four years.
A third defendant, Lashuwndre Coleman, 20, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty to obstructing official business. He received probation.
