The head of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association strongly defended the actions of the 13 officers and detectives involved in the 2012 deadly chase after their punishments were handed down Tuesday, but the local NAACP president says the punishments were long overdue.
Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association president Steve Loomis said police need to be allowed to do their jobs, and added that he’s not sure how officers can when they’re being suspended or fired for attempting to protect and serve.
"There’s not a situation in the world that we're 100 percent safe in, but we do the best that we can with the training that we have,” said Loomis. "Let us do our jobs. We want to do our jobs. We want to get involved with the community. We want to get involved with community policing."
But NAACP president Michael Nelson said Loomis’ comments hurt an already strained relationship between police and the communities they serve.
"The disciplinary action against those officers is long overdue,” said Nelson. "There were 13 officers surrounding that car. It’s amazing they didn't shoot each other. The only people that committed violence that night were the rogue police officers."
