I-Team: Why couldn’t Cleveland police chase man who reportedly pulled gun on officers?
By: fox8.com
CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered a firestorm after a man pulled a gun on Cleveland Police officers, and they were ordered not to chase him just one day after a funeral for an officer killed in the line of duty.
So we investigated.
Around midnight Sunday near West 50th Street and Denison Avenue, police radio tapes show officers called out about a man pointing a gun at them, but a boss said to let him go.
An officer can be heard saying, “Going eastbound on Denison. Packing a gun in his waist band.” But a supervisor responds with, “Terminate pursuit, terminate pursuit, terminate pursuit…. terminate pursuit.”
An officer on the street says, “He pointed the gun at us, again.” But, the supervisor responds again with, “Terminate pursuit. Acknowledge.”
Just a day and a half earlier, police had gathered for a funeral service to say goodbye to Detective James Skernivitz. He had been shot and killed while working undercover. Three suspects face charges.