A group of Cleveland police officers involved in a 2012 car chase that left two black people dead are suing the city for disciplining them harshly because of their race.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal district court in Ohio, alleges that one Latino and eight white officers were treated “substantially harsher” than black officers for shooting black residents, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“A serious dichotomy exists as a result of the defendants’ longstanding practices and procedures which place onerous burdens on non-African American officers, including the plaintiffs, because of their race and the race of persons who are the subjects of the legitimate use of deadly force,” the lawsuit reads, CNN reported.
All of the officers took part in an incident involving high-speed car chase that took place in November 2012 and ended with the fatal shooting of two black suspects, the newspaper reported. No weapon was ultimately found in the suspects’ car, and the city later settled a $3 million lawsuit with their families.
The lawsuit filed Friday claims that the officers involved in the incident returned to active duty after they were placed on administrative leave and completed a cooling-off period, only to then be placed on restricted duty again for political reasons, according to CNN.
The suit comes on the heels of another high-profile police shooting in the city. A white Cleveland police officer fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was black, on Nov. 22 when he mistook the boy’s BB gun for a real weapon.
Lead photo: Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, who pursued the indictment of the officers for the 2012 car chase and shooting.
