CLEVELAND, OH - A civil rights group says it's keeping a close eye on a local police-involved shooting case.
"Disturbed" is how the Cleveland branch of the NAACP describes conflicting reports leading up to the shooting of Luke Stewart in Euclid on Monday. The 23-year-old was shot and killed by a Euclid police officer.
The officer claims Stewart tried to run him over, but a dispatch recording suggests the officer was inside the car at the time of the shooting. State investigators are looking into it.
The NAACP says it's monitoring the investigation closely.
The full statement from the NAACP is as follows:
The Cleveland NAACP wishes to express its sympathy to the family ofLuke Stewart who was fatally shot by a Euclid Police officer on March, 13, 2017.The NAACP will monitor the investigation of this shooting closely. In fact, Michael L.Nelson, Sr., Cleveland NAACP President, is in contact with the supervising agents of both theBureau of Criminal Investigations and the City of Euclid regarding this matter.While the facts in this case, have yet to be determined, we are disturbed by the conflictingreports given by the officers of the circumstances leading up to the shooting. We are especiallyconcerned about the statements that the victim was attempting to run the officer over, when thedispatch record states that an officer was in Mr. Stewart’s car at the time the shots were fired.The Cleveland NAACP urges the BCI to investigate this matter both thoroughly and asexpeditiously as possible, and we ask that the community be vigilant and exercise reasonablepatience with the necessary investigation.
(Photo by Euclid Police via Facebook)
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