CLEVELAND — Editor's note: Video in the player at the top of this story was originally published after the incident originally occurred in April of 2021.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury has declined to indict a Cleveland police officer in the death of 25-year-old Innes Kirk Lee Jr., according to an update from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Friday morning.
“The grand jury rules that the officer acted properly based on its review of a thorough, independent investigation,” Yost said. “The goal is always to find the truth.”
The situation dates back to April 15, 2021, when Lee was fatally shot by the officer in the area of 4281 E. 134th Street in Cleveland.
“The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department investigated the shooting, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Crime Scene Unit assisted,” Yost’s office noted.
Yost’s office published the complete investigative files online for the public to review HERE.
“The case files include, among other records, field reports, dispatch records, crime scene reports and interviews with the officers involved,” Yost’s office said in a press release. “Personnel files of the involved officers have also been made public, along with camera footage of the incident.”
There are “minor redactions” made for information protected by law, however, including social security numbers and names of juveniles.
“Trust comes from consistent actions taken over time,” Yost said. “Once again, we will publish the full investigation on our searchable website for critical incident investigations.”
Calvin Williams, who was chief of police in Cleveland at the time of the incident, said the situation had started that day around 4 a.m. when officers in the fourth district received a call about a man "wanted in connection with crimes and victimizing people in this very community." Officials later clarified it was along the 13600 block of Beachwood Avenue in the Corlett neighborhood.
Williams said the man "got away," but police returned to the area after receiving a call later in the morning.
"They [officers] actually spotted that person," Williams continued. "[After] a short foot chase into a back yard, the officer encountered the person, ordered him to put his hands up, to get down. That person, basically, turned on the officer, pulled a gun from his waistband in which time the officer fired his weapon. Right after that, additional officers responded and administered first aid to that individual."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF THE CASE:
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published shortly after the incident took place on April 15, 2021.