angelo miller car seat.jpg

An exhibit from court documents shows the car where Angelo Miller was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in March 2007.

(Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland paid out more than $4.6 million in the last decade to resolve lawsuits alleging that its police officers killed people without justification.

Northeast Ohio Media Group and The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. calculated the cost to taxpayers by reviewing the details of nearly 70 lawsuits that allege officer misconduct ranging from wrongful arrest to excessive and fatal force.

About This 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. Though the city admitted no wrongdoing in settling many of the lawsuits, 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.

Man runs red light, is chased and killed by Cleveland police

Cleveland police fire 137 rounds at 2 unarmed suspects

Cleveland police open fire when unarmed man opens his front door

Cleveland police shoot fleeing drunken driver in the back during traffic stop

The accusations found in a number of the lawsuits echo a key finding from the recent U.S. Justice Department investigation into the city's police force: "CDP officers too often use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constitution."

Here is a look at what court documents revealed in some of the lethal force cases (click each link for more information):

In March 2007, an off-duty Cleveland police officer working security at an apartment complex fatally shot a 17-year-old boy he suspected of breaking into cars.

Officer John Lundy confronted Angelo Miller, who was behind the wheel of a car, and ordered the boy to put his hands up. Miller became scared, his family said in a lawsuit, and tried to drive away.

The officer said Miller sped toward him, giving him reason to open fire. Lundy let loose eight rounds.

The city paid $35,000 to settle the subsequent lawsuit.

In 2002, Cleveland police shot a drunken driver in the back as he fled from a traffic stop.

Officers Martin Rudin and Daniel Jopek said they opened fire after Stephon Moore put his car in reverse and tried to back into one of the officers. Lawyers representing the estate of the father of four argued Moore was only backing up and posed no threat.

Both officers opened fire. A single bullet pierced Moore's heart, lungs and liver, killing him.

A lawsuit filed by Moore's mother claimed the city and its police "fostered unconstitutional customs" and "failed to establish policies, procedures, instruction, training, supervision or discipline with respects to the use of excessive force."

The city paid $250,000 to settle the lawsuit.

In 1998, a gunshot and pistol-whipping from Cleveland police caused a man permanent brain damage that eventually led to his death.

Two officers stopped Chris Mitchell's car on the city's East Side for unstated reasons.

The officers, according to the lawsuit filed by Mitchell's wife, told Mitchell he was free to go, then inexplicably chased after him and opened fire.

Mitchell crashed into a utility pole, got out of the car and ran from the officers, who continued to shoot. The officers eventually caught up with, tackled and pitstol-whipped Mitchell.

The brain damage he suffered in the attack killed him in 2000, according to the lawsuit.

The officers denied shooting Mitchell. They said the bullet that struck him was fired by a construction worker in the area.

The city paid Mitchell's wife $105,000 to settle the case.