TIMOTHY J.

MCGINTY
CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTOR

Response from Prosecutor McGinty to the Michael Nelsons letter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2015

Cleveland Mr. Nelson misunderstands the process followed in the Tamir Rice
case and in the other 19 fatal use of deadly force cases this office has reviewed or
will review. This office has always been extremely careful not to release any
Grand Jury testimony and to comply with the law. But every time police use
deadly force and kill a citizen, an independent investigation will be conducted, and
we will make those results public. These investigative reports are not Grand Jury
secrets. The public has a right to know what actually happened.
As promised to the public, I released the completed sheriffs investigation of
Officers Loehmann and Garmback. Attorney General Mike DeWine and I did the
same after the BCI investigation of Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo and the
other officers involved in the chase and deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa
Williams. A thorough investigation was conducted and made public so that rumors
or false information did not carry the day as happened in Ferguson. Mr. Nelson
never suggested that we undermined the integrity of the Grand Jury by the letting
the public know what happened in the Brelo case. The only complaints about
transparency then were from the police union. But now, after the Grand Jury
produced an outcome with which Mr. Nelson disagrees, he takes issue with the
process.
Four years ago, I promised to give the public a full accounting whenever the police
kill a civilian. That is what we have done and will do. I also promised to have all of
these civilian-death cases reviewed by the Grand Jury; no longer would the
prosecutor alone review police reports and personally decide not to file charges.
The result of that arbitrary process, as we all know, was that no one can recall a
Cleveland police officer being indicted for the death of civilian for a quarter
century before the Brelo case.

Although not required by Ohio law, we have changed the process to make it more
open, honest and accountable to the public. This way, the public will know what
actually happened. This allows for police and cities to make the reforms and policy
changes necessary to prevent the same mistakes.
What we never promised and could not promise without violating the law is to
reveal testimony before the Grand Jury. The written investigative report issued to
the public and the Grand Jury investigation are totally separate and must remain so
by law.
Everything that was revealed to news organizations about testimony in this case
was done so by civil attorneys or the witnesses themselves. Prosecutors by law
cannot comment what occurred in the Grand Jury.
The cases cited by Mr. Nelson do not support his argument and do not reflect Ohio
law. Grand Jury secrecy is designed to allow Grand Jurors and witnesses to
perform their legal duties without fear of retaliation or recrimination. Mr. Nelsons
call for eliminating Grand Jury protections in this case would set a dangerous
precedent. To subject the Grand Jury to the hate mail and death threats this case
has generated would be unwise and unfair to the dedicated citizens who served as
Grand Jurors.
Instead of trying to overturn centuries of legal precedent regarding the Grand Jury,
we want to join Mr. Nelson and his venerable organization to make sure the
mistakes that led to a 12-year-old childs unnecessary death are not repeated.
The city has already reached a historic agreement with the Department of Justice
that is producing needed changes in hiring, policy and tactics. Under the leadership
of Mayor Jackson and Chief Williams, the city has added dash- and body-cams,
improved training for officers and dispatch and provided first aid instructions for
officers. Tamir will not have died in vain if we learn from the mistakes made in
this case.
Contact: Joseph Frolik, Director of Communications and Public Policy. Phone: 216.443.7488 or
Email: jfrolik@prosecutor.cuyahogacounty.us