Cleveland police 137 rounds COF score: "2 mikes, 2 mikes ..."

Cleveland police punish 12 officers in deadly chase that ended in 137 rounds of gunfire | Fox News:

Cleveland police fired a sergeant and meted out demotions and suspensions Tuesday for a car chase last year that involved five dozen cruisers, 137 rounds of ammunition fired by 13 officers, and the death of two people who, it turned out, were probably unarmed.

A captain and lieutenant were demoted, and nine sergeants got suspensions ranging from one day to 30 days. They and the fired sergeant will appeal their punishment, according to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8, which represents police supervisors.

Dozens of cruisers became involved in the chase without permission from superiors and with little direction, according to a state report released earlier in the year. The episode damaged the department's relationship with residents and must be repaired, Chief Michael McGrath said at a news conference Tuesday.

Wow!  That sounds .... well, actually it sounds terribly familiar.

But first, more info on THIS story:

...  13 officers who fired their weapons as the chase ended in a blocked-off school parking lot in East Cleveland face a county grand jury investigating possible criminal wrongdoing.

The chase began around 10:30 p.m. when an officer thought he heard a gunshot from a car speeding by the police and courts complex in downtown Cleveland. A parking lot attendant thought it might have been a car backfire, a theory endorsed by the driver's family.
The officer jumped into his patrol car, made a U-turn and radioed for help.
The chase went through crowded residential neighborhoods, then reversed course, headed east onto busy Interstate 90 and through parts of Cleveland, and eventually into East Cleveland.

Then the gunfire erupted, 137 rounds. Driver Timothy Russell, 43, was shot 23 times and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, was shot 24 times.
The union has said the shootings were justified because the driver tried to ram an officer. No weapon or shell casings were found in the fleeing car.
Of the 276 officers on duty that evening, 104 were involved in some way in the chase. Sixty police cars were involved.

So let me see if I understand this:

In Cleveland (the city where both the river and the mayor's hair both caught fire in the 1980's) .. a cop THOUGHT he heard a shot, chased a fire and called for backup.  A total of 104 cops in 60 cop cars were involved.  "... 13 officers who fired their weapons as the chase ended in a blocked-off school parking lot in East Cleveland face a county grand jury investigating possible criminal wrongdoing."

Why?

Because both people in the car were killed: not just the driver who reportedly 'tried to ram an officer', but also the passenger who was obviously not involved in that reported assault on a police officer.  (She suffered one more hit than the Driver, apparently in the ".. and one to grow on ..." spirit of a Birthday Spanking; or maybe she just had her seat belt fastened and didn't fall down fast enough?)

Then the gunfire erupted, 137 rounds. Driver Timothy Russell, 43, was shot 23 times and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, was shot 24 times.
The union has said the shootings were justified because the driver tried to ram an officer. No weapon or shell casings were found in the fleeing car.

Emphasis added.  As if the police were not sufficiently emphatic.

Sounds a lot like  "Bonnie and Clyde" to me. 

Do the math: 23 + 24 =47 hits out of 137 shots fired .... all by the police, who were not under fire.

(What happened to the other 90 rounds?)

I'm afraid I cannot stand in support of Cleveland's "Boys in Blue";  I think these boys need to grow up before they swagger down the mean streets of Cleveland wearing a badge and a gun.

___________________

But wait ... there's more!

I said this sounded familiar, so I searched my own blog using the search argument "blue on blue", and I found this article I wrote in May 15, 2005:

120 rounds

That described a similar police debacle in which we reported:

On May 9, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) in Compton attempted to shoot Moby Dick (a white SUV) which had been chased "at speeds approaching 35 mph", driven by a man who they considered a suspect in an earlier drive-by shooting. When the SUV appeared to be menacing the 10 patrolmen, they fired as many as 120 handgun rounds (according to early reports) at the Evil SUV. The results were:

• the SUV was well and thoroughly ventilated.
• the driver of the SUV was hit four times, in 'the extremities' (hand, arm, shoulder)
• One deputy was hit by a bullet and knocked down; fortunately the bullet failed to penetrate his bullet-proof vest
• several rounds hit houses in the immediate vicinity
• Neighborhood residents stated "it sounded like a war!"
• An investigation is being conducted to determine whether the police over-reacted.

That article was quickly  followed up on June 9, 2005 in an article called:

120 rounds, Part II

In an article titled: 13 L.A. sheriff's deputies to be punished for wild assault on car

(.... a follow-up on the earlier article, see 120 rounds)

1:56 p.m. June 9, 2005

COMPTON – The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will discipline 13 deputies for firing about 120 shots at an unarmed driver here last month, Sheriff Lee Baca announced Thursday. One deputy will be suspended for 15 days, others will be off duty for lesser periods and some will receive written reprimands, Baca said at a news conference at Compton City Hall.
The sheriff also praised the deputies, saying they "are dedicated and have great passion and concern for the people of Compton."
The announcement drew a mixed reaction.
Activist Morris Griffin hugged Baca after the news conference. "We never expected the police to police themselves," Griffin said.
But Lolitha Jones, who held a sign protesting the shooting, said deputies should have faced tougher measures.
"An ordinary citizen going down the street on a rampage like that would have gone straight to jail," she said.
Winston Hayes, 44, and a deputy were wounded in the May 9 shooting, which was captured on videotape. Deputies opened fire as Hayes's sport utility vehicle lurched forward and struck a patrol car. That followed a brief pursuit of Hayes, who deputies suspected of involvement in a previous shooting. It was later determined that he was not involved in the attack.
Hayes was hospitalized for about two weeks after being hit by four bullets and now faces charges of evading police and driving under the influence of drugs.
The deputy was hit by a round but only bruised.
The shooting spurred anger in the community, where bullets smashed through windows and hit house walls. Some deputies held a news conference to apologize.

(See the original SignOnSanDiego article for details)

Do we see a trend here?

When a lone gunman enters a shopping mall and shoots a couple of people, we call it a "Massacre" and immediately begin to propose new Gun Control Legislation.  There is no need for anyone to own a pistol;   if you feel you are in danger, just call the police.  They are trained law-enforcement officials and they alone can be trusted to responsibly carry a firearm.

You, the private citizen, would not have the training and experience to responsible carry a firearm.  If anything, you would probably panic in ... like ... a "Road Rage" citizen and end up shooting innocent people whose only crime was bad driving!

The evidence is clear: only policemen can be expected to responsibly carry a firearm ...

Unless they are gathered in groups of 13 or more.