Cleveland Police chase: Looking back at the deadly shooting of November 2012

This Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, photo shows evidence markers of Ohio BCI agents and other law enforcement officials investigating a police shooting that killed two people in East Cleveland. The chase ended with 13 officers firing 137 rounds into a car, killing both people inside.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Of the nation's nearly 11,500 local police departments, the U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating two for possible misconduct: Ferguson, Missouri and Cleveland.

The civil rights probes came after the November 2012 police chase in Cleveland that ended with two unarmed people killed in a hail of 137 bullets and the August shooting of an unarmed black man by a white Ferguson police officer.

Once the investigations are complete, the cities could sign consent decrees that would mandate transformation throughout the maligned departments.

A federal hammer would likely come down first on Cleveland. The DOJ launched its local investigation in March 2013, five months after 13 Cleveland police officers shot at driver Timothy Russell, 43, and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, on Nov. 29, 2012.

Police said Russell tried to ram officers with his 1979 Chevy Malibu after leading them on a full-tilt chase from downtown Cleveland to an East Cleveland middle school. Russell was eventually struck by 23 bullets, and Williams 24.

Officer Michael Brelo, who fired 49 rounds during the volley, faces voluntary manslaughter charges. More than 70 officers and supervisors have been disciplined for their ancillary roles in the pursuit.

Federal authorities have collected stacks of evidence and interviewed police officers, lawyers and community groups to determine whether Cleveland's cops routinely defy use-of-force policies or violate civil rights.

The DOJ has given no timeline for when its investigation into city's police force will be complete.

"The road ahead will be difficult," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said last year when the investigation was announced. "This work is not easy, but this independent review is critical to ensuring and preserving trust between a police department and the community it serves."

The federal dig into Ferguson's police department began in September, about a month after Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. Wilson's use of force has been called into question, igniting protests and more violence in the community.

In the last five years, the DOJ has opened investigations into 20 police departments, a two-fold increase over the previous five years.

Federal authorities say they are now enforcing eight consent decrees in the wake of investigations in New Orleans, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Detroit, East Haven, Connecticut, and Warren, Ohio.