18 years in prison, and now acquittal ACQUITTAL from A1

Attorny David Malik, front, pictured at a December 2014 trial where he represented Anthony Lemons, was arrested Saturday in connection with carrying a concealed weapon at the Cleveland airport, according to Steve Loomis.

(Marvin Fong/ The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A prominent Cleveland civil rights attorney was arrested Saturday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in connection with carrying a concealed weapon.

David Malik was arrested about 4:15 p.m. after airport security found an unloaded .22 caliber handgun and a box of ammunition in his carry-on bag, records show.

"I participated in a target shooting class recently with a certified CCW instructor and I simply forgot to remove it from my bag," Malik said in a statement. "I used the bag to pack for my trip. It was a stupid mistake."

Malik spent Saturday night in jail and was released on bond Sunday morning, according to Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association.

He is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in Cleveland Municipal Court.

"What's interesting about David is he is such an anti-gun person," Loomis said. "He's such an anti-violence person, and of all the things for him to get arrested for, that really surprises me."

Malik's clients

Malik has made headlines in Cleveland representing clients who sued the city and its police department for wrongful deaths and civil rights violations. He's been a vocal advocate for reform in the police department, which has come under scrutiny in recent months.

Malik was the original attorney for the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014. The boy was killed outside a recreation center by an officer responding to a report of a man with a gun.

Tamir's family sued the city for the boy's wrongful death, saying officers "confronted him in a surprise fashion and fired multiple shots at him without any adequate investigation." The family has since cut ties with Malik and enlisted the help of another attorney.

Malik also represents the family of Tanisha Anderson, who died in November 2014 in police custody after her family called officers saying she was causing a disturbance.

Anderson struggled with officers who were taking her to the police cruiser to transport her for a mental health evaluation. She stopped moving after an officer performed a take-down move by placing his knee on her back as she lay face-down on the pavement, according to her family.

A federal civil rights lawsuit accuses police of excessive force, wrongful death, assault and battery and violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Malik also represented the family of Malissa Williams, who died along with Timothy Russell in November 2012 after a police chase ended in a hail of gunfire. Williams and Russell led more than 60 police cruisers on a chase that ended in a middle school parking lot.

Officers said they believed somebody in the car shot at them, and that Russell tried to run them over. Police fired more than 100 bullets at the car, killing both Russell and Williams.

Their families filed a lawsuit claiming the two never had a gun. The city in 2014 paid out a $3 million settlement to be split between the families.