CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An 18-year-old Cleveland man shot and killed by an East Cleveland police officer Tuesday morning was driving his girlfriend to work in a car a friend allowed him to drive as a favor, his stepmother told cleveland.com.
The family’s insistence that Vincent Belmonte drove a borrowed car runs counter to East Cleveland police’s initial report that says the officers tried to stop a car they say was stolen.
Body camera video released by East Cleveland identified the officer who shot Belmonte as Sgt. Larry McDonald, a police officer with a history of discipline issues currently on departmental probation for getting a woman released from jail in 2019 in exchange for a date.
The department placed McDonald on paid administrative leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigates the shooting, East Cleveland Police Chief Scott Gardner said.
When asked how police concluded that Belmonte was in a stolen car, Gardner said the car was speeding down Euclid Avenue and responding officers told the dispatcher that “the vehicle was the same vehicle that had run from an officer on a previous occasion.”
“At some point, they are able to get the plate information and the plates did not match the vehicle,” Gardner said.
In response to the family’s claim that Belmonte borrowed the car, Gardner said, “I have no idea if the owner made a false report, but that would be hindsight from our officers thinking it was stolen. I am unaware of the owner of the vehicle had a relationship with the decedent.”
Belmonte spent his life working on his family’s 7-acre farm in Garrettsville, where he lived at the time of his death. Bullets struck him in the back of the neck, his shoulder and his head, according to Gardner and Belmonte’s stepmother Nickey Duckworth.
Belmonte’s father, who asked not to be identified over concerns for his safety, said the shooting left him in a state of panic. He said he’s visited the crime scene three times as he and other family members attempt to get some closure over his son’s death.
“He didn’t get the time he probably should have,” he said as he choked back tears. “Vincent was so gifted. He could read by the time he was 3. He was taking high school classes in the fourth grade.”
“I don’t understand why this happened,” his father said.
The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday on Allandale Avenue near the Apex Academy charter school. The initial police statement said that officers followed Belmonte because they said the same car had driven away from officers the day before.
Police followed him, and the car caught fire after it hit several objects police have still not identified. Police gave a short chase as Belmonte sped through side streets, Gardner said.
Belmonte, his girlfriend and another man got out of the car and ran. Belmonte ran behind houses and jumped over a fence to head to the school.
Officers told a dispatcher that he pulled out a gun, and they shot at him. Though videos obtained by cleveland.com do not show the actual shooting.
Duckworth said the car Belmonte drove belonged to a friend, and he borrowed it because his car would not start. She called rumors that her stepson -- who has no criminal record available in public records -- was involved in a robbery or a carjacking are disheartening.
“And it’s not like he hot-wired the car. He had the keys. (Police are) trying to say my son’s a carjacker,” Duckworth said. “And we’re not going to pretend like Black men don’t run from police. Why he ran from the police was because he was scared he was going to die. And guess what? His worse nightmare came to life, and he died. That’s why he ran. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t try to run that car into the police. He didn’t try to run over police. He ran away.”
Belmonte’s brother, Dejour Duckworth, said the police don’t care what they did to Belmonte.
“He knew what was going to happen after he got out of the car,” he said. “He feared for his life. I know my brother. Even if he did have his gun on him, we have a farm. We have firearms. There were really no bad intentions with what he was trying to do.”
Paramedics took Belmonte to University Hospitals, where he died.
“They (police) snatched a vital part out of our lives,” Nickey Duckworth said as she described her blended family of eight children. “We always teach about blended families and how to get along. We’ve taught our children how to properly release their anger. They’re farm people. He wouldn’t have shot (at the police).”
Advocates, pastors, family of Belmonte and public officials held a press conference Friday afternoon to demand the firing of McDonald and that changes in the police department’s policies be made.
Civil Rights Advocate Justin Anderson said during the press conference that McDonald has been a huge problem for the city. Anderson said he has begged East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King to terminate him.
“Instead the mayor promoted him,” Anderson said. “I’m not saying all officers are bad, there are a lot of good officers in this department. I and the community are fed up. We demand the termination of Officer Larry McDonald.”
He turned his body camera off, Anderson said. To him, that should be enough to terminate him, he added (Remington 1-3).
Video that East Cleveland police released on Wednesday shows McDonald activate his body camera and then immediately turn it off as he closed in on Belmonte, who police said pulled out a pistol as he ran from the car.
When asked about McDonald’s video, East Cleveland police Chief Scott Gardner said it was “a common occurrence” for officers using that type of body camera not to hear it beep, the indication that the camera started recording. Officers often try to activate it a second time and inadvertently shut it off, Gardner said, adding that he was offering “pure speculation.”
Another officer’s body camera caught the sound of three gunshots.
As officers approached Belmonte’s body lying face-down on the ground, an out-of-breath McDonald said the man had a gun, the video showed. An officer asked where it was. McDonald said it was in his hand.
“He went to grab it out his pocket,” McDonald added, panting.
An officer rolled Belmonte over, peaked under his body, and said, “It’s affirmed.”
McDonald asked if the man he just shot was alright. No one answered.
McDonald repeatedly screamed out, “godd----t,” as an officer walked with him away from the scene. He stopped to ask people sitting in a van in a driveway if they were OK, then directed an officer to move a police cruiser away from the smoldering car that police said Belmonte left behind.
Officers called for an ambulance, rolled Belmonte over and cut off his shirt to examine the wound, which appeared to be on his right side, the video showed. A pistol lay on his body on the ground, the video showed.
An officer could be heard on the video telling another officer that the gun had been in the pocket of Belmonte’s hooded sweatshirt.
Belmonte was pronounced dead at University Hospitals shortly after the shooting.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations took over the investigation into the shooting (Shaffer 1-2).
[East Cleveland police Chief Scott] Gardner slapped McDonald with a 10-day suspension and placed him on probation for one year on Jan. 7, 2019 after finding McDonald improperly intervened in a woman’s case and helped release her from jail. The woman, arrested after she went to the police station to clear up an outstanding warrant, filed a formal complaint with the department accusing McDonald of offering to help get her out of jail if she went out to dinner with him. She also accused him of harassing her over the following weeks.
McDonald told Internal Affairs investigators in a written statement that a city prosecutor permitted him to release the woman from the jail because she was upset about possibly missing school because she was in jail, the Plain Dealer reported. The newspaper reported that McDonald said he did not exchange numbers or agree to meet the woman until she was out of jail.
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McDonald was also investigated late last year after another officer in the department flagged comments McDonald made about taking marijuana from the department’s evidence locker, Gardner said.
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McDonald was also featured in a 2019 Eye on Ohio story about East Cleveland’s financial struggles. The article described McDonald’s approach to his job as “radical Broken Windows policing” and chronicled him arresting two 18-year-old men for standing on a public sidewalk.
The city’s prosecutor and assistant law director, Heather McCollough, told the man [McDonald] she was letting him go with a warning that “he has been noticed … to cite people that he recognizes for hanging around on sidewalks and things of that nature,” according to the article.
McDonald is also currently a defendant in a wrongful arrest lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court over his role in the May 2018 arrest of a then-17-year-old boy who is now charged as an adult in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court with aggravated murder.
The lawsuit says he [McDonald] and several other East Cleveland officers initiated a traffic stop against Martaze Burrell as a pretext so they could arrest him and question him in the killing of Steven Swain, which happened months earlier. They then cited Burrell with driving with fictitious plates to justify the stop (Shaffwe 3-4).
Belmonte’s stepmother Niki Duckworth said, “They called themselves the siblings because there are eight of them. Now there are seven. To sit and watch people degrade my family’s integrity with some of the sickest stuff I’ve ever seen in the name of the man who has been harassing the community since I was a child.”
“He’s not an angry urban child. He had a place to release his aggression. My children are devastated from the loss of their brother. His mother and my husband are devastated that they’ve loss their baby,” Duckworth said (Anderson and Boomer 1).
[A video exists that shows an officer who is not McDonald chasing Belmonte and arriving where McDonald is standing after shots have been fired. Paste the following on Google]
East Cleveland police officer turned off body camera just ...
Works cited:
Anderson, Chris and Boomer, Harry. “Family of 18-Year-Old Killed by Officer Speaks along with East Cleveland Council after Police-Involved Shooting.” Cleveland 19 News, January 8, 2021. Net. https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/01/08/family-year-old-killed-by-officer-speaks-along-with-east-cleveland-council-after-police-involved-shooting/
Remington, Kaylee. “Man Shot and Killed by East Cleveland Police Officer Was Taking Girlfriend to Work in Borrowed Car, Family Says.” Cleveland.Com, January 8, 2021. Net. https://www.cleveland.com/crime/2021/01/man-shot-and-killed-by-east-cleveland-police-officer-was-taking-girlfriend-to-work-in-borrowed-car-family-says.html
Shaffer, Cory. “East Cleveland Police Officer Who Shot Man Was on Departmental Probation for Soliciting Date from Woman He Arrested.” Cleveland.Com, January 7, 2021. Net. https://www.cleveland.com/crime/2021/01/east-cleveland-police-officer-who-shot-man-was-on-departmental-probation-for-soliciting-date-from-woman-he-arrested.html
The family of a man shot and killed by a Texas police officer during a mental health check is calling for the officer's arrest. Patrick Warren Sr.’s son said his family had called for help on Sunday because Warren was having a mental health emergency.
Ring doorbell footage shows Killeen Police Officer Reynaldo Contreras knocking on Warren's door, a surprise to his family who had requested help from a mental health professional. The family said they had called for help the day before, and a mental health professional arrived with no issue.
"They never told us that one wasn't available. They just sent out a Killeen police officer," Warren's son, Patrick Warren Jr., told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.
Warren Jr. said Contreras's demeanor toward his family was hostile, so they asked him to leave. But moments later, he returned and knocked.
Warren Sr. answered and stepped outside with his hands in the air. His son said he noticed a red dot shining on the door.
"The only reason we got up and walked to the door was because we saw an infrared beam from a taser on the door which concerned us. We heard a pop," he said. "We got up. We ran to the door. By the time we made it outside, my father was on the ground, and that's where everything kind of took place."
The video, which was released by the family's attorney and appears to be edited, then cuts to cell phone footage.
The family stood and watched as Contreras, a five-year veteran at the department, shot the husband and father of three in the chest. Warren was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The family is calling for the body camera footage to be released.
Lee Merritt, who represents Warren's family, said the police officer should not have been sent to their home.
"If they couldn't send someone with the training to deal with the crisis that was actually occurring, then it would have been better for them to send no one at all," he said.
Warren Jr. said his family is still processing their father's death, including his younger brother, who has Down Syndrome.
"He's constantly — he was like, you know, 'My father's in heaven?' And I have to answer that question 1,000 times a day, and sometimes he just breaks down and he just wants to cry," Warren Jr. said.
The Killeen Police Department and the Texas Rangers are now investigating Warren's death. In a statement, Killeen's police chief wrote "it is my duty to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted so that all parties, including the public, have the answers they seek” (Texas 1-2).
Civil Rights attorney for Patrick Warren, Sr.'s family Lee Merritt held a press conference Wednesday to provide an update on the fatal shooting.
This update comes a day after the Killeen Police Department held its own press conference where Chief Charles Kimble shared the graphic footage from Officer Reynaldo Contreras' body camera from the day [January 10] he shot and killed Warren.
Kimble said he released the video because the narrative up to that point told a story that was not accurate. He also took issue with the accusations against Contreras.
"Officer Contreras was dealing with the incident right in front of him. He was not some rude, hostile officer who was not wanted in the home," Kimble said at the Jan. 19 press conference.
Merritt said it was their goal by sharing their evidence, KPD would share theirs, so the community could have a clearer picture.
"The scary thing is that the narrative wasn't in fact demonstratively different than what we believed happened," Merritt said.
Merritt said Officer Contreras should not have been the officer responding. He said Contreras was not prepared for the emergency outlined in the call.
"What I expected to see is what we saw the day before, which is an officer whose willing to engage Mr. Warren in his manic state, to be able to get him to help safely and get him back home to his family safe," Merritt said.
Chief Kimble said Warren's wife called 911 and asked for a mental health deputy. He said she mentioned to the call taker Warren was being aggressive. Kimble did admit there was a breakdown in the system.
"I fully admit there was a breakdown in the system where police had to go out and deal with people with mental health. Our tools are very limited," Kimble said.
The body camera footage begins with Contreras pulling up to the house and coming to the front door. He's invited inside then leaves again to deescalate the situation and wait for backup, according to Kimble.
The footage shows Warren coming out of the house just 90 seconds later. He constantly repeats the phrase "take it by faith" and starts walking into the yard at Contreras. At this same time, Contreras is seen moving backward and telling Warren to get on the ground. He verbally warns Warren that he will use the Taser two times before finally deploying it.
Warren then falls to the ground and Contreras tells Warren to stay on the ground.
Instead, Warren gets back up and continues toward Contreras while picking up speed. The officer tries to retreat out of the yard while warning Warren that he is going to shoot him. As Warren closes the distance at the edge of the front yard, Contreras fires his gun three times.
"It's a tragic situation. It's hard to watch. I'll tell you, we watched that video over and over and over," Chief Kimble told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "I can't imagine putting myself in Officer Contreras's shoes because I believe this video shows he waited till the last possible second to use force."
Different video, from a doorbell camera that was released by the Warren family, shows Warren walk out his front door and walk toward Contreras while waving his arms.
Warren walks out of view of the camera at which point Contreras used a taser on him.
The video then cuts to another shot that shows Warren get back up and continue toward the officer. One of Warren's family members can be heard telling Warren to sit down, and asking the officer not to shoot him. Then three gunshots are fired out of view of the camera.
Warren died at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center.
Merritt believes criminal charges will go forward for Contreras. There was talk of a civil suit, but Merritt said they will decide on that after a grand jury has made its determination (Civil 1).
Asked why a police officer was deployed on Sunday, Kimble said the call taker raised concerns about what they heard on the call from the family.
"It was a call for a psychiatric person," Kimble said. "But as the call taker was listening to the caller, if certain things are said, or certain things are heard, then it prompts a different response...It prompted a police response, and it prompted a response from fire and medics who were standing by" (Killough and Alonso 2).
A Texas police officer who fatally shot a Black man experiencing a mental health crisis will not be charged for his death.
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The Texas Rangers, the agency tasked with investigating the incident, turned over their report earlier this week to a Bell County grand jury, which declined to indict Contreras, police said Friday.
Following the announcement, Merritt told reporters he was disappointed in the decision and that the family, all present at the time of the fatal shooting, should have had the opportunity to testify.
Police have said that Contreras had had mental health training, but Merritt added it “obviously was insufficient to deal with an unarmed man in his pajamas on his front lawn.”
The officer returned to work in April (Schladebeck 1-2).
[Paste the following on Google to see the Now This News produced video of this incident]
2
Patrick Warren Sr. Shot by Police During Mental Health Check
Works cited:
“Civil Rights Attorney Lee Merritt Gives Update on Fatal Shooting of Patrick Warren, Sr.” KCENTV, January 20, 2021. Net. https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/civil-rights-attorney-lee-merritt-update-fatal-shooting-patrick-warren/500-82e42232-f1a5-44bf-8b5a-bc497e7dceb5
Killough. Ashley and Alonso, Melissa. “Body Cam Video Shows Police Officer's Fatal Shooting of a Black Man during a Mental Health Check.” CNN, January 24, 2021. Net. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/23/us/patrick-warren-killeen-officer-shot-kill-video/index.html
Schladebeck, Jessica. “Texas Police Officer Won’t Be Charged for Shooting Black Man Experiencing Mental Health Crisis.” New York Daily News, May 22, 2021. Net. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-police-officer-not-indicted-mental-health-call-20210522-gtoa43b72jcybapzyzx5446qoe-story.html
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