CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland police officers said 24-year-old Brandon Robinson reached for an officer's gun when they shot him dead. Witnesses, however, disputed that account.

According a 2004 lawsuit Robinson's family filed in federal court, Robinson sat in a car with a friend on East 151st Street near Kinsman Road on Jan. 18, 2004, when Cleveland officers Timothy Clark and Arneil Rose pulled along side. They were investigating suspected drug activity in the area.

About The Series

Northeast Ohio Media Group and The Plain Dealer reviewed the details of nearly 70 lawsuits against Cleveland officers that resulted in taxpayer payouts over the past decade. The lawsuits alleged that officers used excessive force, made wrongful arrests or needlessly escalated violence during encounters with citizens. The city admitted no wrongdoing in settling many of the lawsuits, but taken as a whole, the patterns that emerge from the cases match closely with the patterns of police behavior that were described in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. The city has declined the opportunity to discuss the individual cases in more detail. In response to questions, the city released a statement contending that it seriously considers all allegations of excessive force by officers. This, according to the city, has resulted in a steady drop in the annual number of incidents.

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The officers approached the car with guns drawn and ordered the men out, according to the suit. They handcuffed Robinson's friend and put him in the cruiser, but Robinson fled on foot while being handcuffed. Clark chased and tackled him. After a brief tussle, Clark subdued Robinson. Lying on his back, Robinson raised his hands in surrender.

Rose approached with his gun drawn. Clark stood and drew his gun as well. Robinson, with his hands above his head, attempted to stand, according to the lawsuit. But the officers shot him in the chest.

The lawsuit accuses the officers of conspiring to lie and say that Robinson reached for Clark's gun, despite conflicting accounts offered by witnesses.

The lawsuit also charges that the city failed to adequately train and supervise its officers on proper police procedure and constitutional limitations on the use of deadly force.

Robinson's family received $95,000 in a settlement with the city in 2009.