The chase went through residential neighborhoods and onto a freeway before ending behind a school in neighboring East Cleveland. It reached 100 mph and covered 25 miles over 22 minutes.
Ohio’s attorney general conducted a separate investigation and said leadership and communications failures led to the escalation of the Nov. 29 chase. The report did not assign blame on any of the officers and concluded crossfire led some officers to believe they were in a shootout with the vehicle’s occupants.
A grand jury will likely determine if any of the officers should face criminal charges.
Some community leaders called the shootings racially motivated because Russell and Williams were black.
A police union attorney has said race had nothing to do with the shooting and said it would be found to be justified because, he said, the driver of the car tried to run over several police officers and intentionally rammed other patrol cars.
U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said Thursday there is a great deal of respect for the officers and department leaders.
“That does not mean there aren’t areas where there might be room for improvement,” he said.
