CLEVELAND — Cleveland police records obtained by News 5 Investigators have revealed new allegations against an off-duty police officer involved in a deadly shooting on May 20.
Myron Priest Jr. was suspended without pay on May 22 after Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy "Annie" Todd concluded his actions during the incident were "a gross neglect of duty."
The Relief from Duty Letter said Priest "did not take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of innocent bystanders and created a substantial risk of serious physical harm to civilians."
The letter also said Priest "failed to appropriately advise radio dispatch immediately after a police incident of a serious nature."
The letter did not address whether or not the fatal shooting of Akili Hammond, 26, was justified.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department is still investigating the shooting.
No one has been arrested or charged in connection with the incident.
Read the letter below:
Surveillance video
One week after the deadly shooting, Cleveland police released surveillance video that showed the moment Priest shot and killed Hammond.
WATCH:
RELATED: Cleveland police release video showing deadly shooting involving off-duty patrol officer
The video starts at 7:12 p.m. It shows a silver car pulling into the parking lot of Park Place Apartments off East Boulevard on Cleveland's East Side and parking next to a black SUV.
Seconds later, a man believed to be Priest gets out of the silver car with what looks like a gun in his hand and walks over to the SUV.
At 7:14 p.m., Priest returns to the silver car and gets a gun, which appears to be a rifle.
Seconds later, a red car drives by. Priest looks at the vehicle, then the video goes black.
The video picks back up almost 40 minutes later.
The red car drives by again. This time, it stops. Hammond gets out.
He and Priest appear to exchange words. Hammond walks away.
Then, at 7:51 p.m., Hammond returns. He begins walking toward Priest. He has what looks like a gun in his hand, but it appears the weapon remained at his side and was not pointed at Priest.
Approximately five seconds after Hammond returns, Priest appears to shoot him. The video shows Hammond collapse face-first on the ground. Smoke is visible at the barrel of Priest's gun.
The scene then becomes chaotic. Priest appears to keep shooting, which is what Stan Martin, a witness, previously told News Investigators.
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Multiple people also appear to fire their guns. In the video, police highlight that at least three other people at the scene were armed.
After the shooting ends, Priest starts gathering items from the crime scene, just feet from where Hammond is lying on the ground. He hands the items to another man at the scene. Then, a third man picks up Hammond's gun, which was later turned over to the police.
Priest did not try to assist Hammond even though, as a Cleveland Police officer, he is trained to render first aid. Instead, Priest walked around the parking lot while several bystanders tried to save Hammond's life.
Hammond was pronounced dead at 9:17 p.m. that night after being rushed to the hospital.
Cell phone video
Cell phone video obtained by News 5 Investigators captured the argument leading up to the deadly shooting.
The video was shot by a resident of Park Place Apartments, who said she heard yelling and looked out her window and started recording from inside Wednesday evening.
In the video, Hammond argued with a woman off-camera.
RELATED: Cell phone video captured argument, deadly shooting involving off-duty Cleveland cop
After exchanging words, Hammond began walking toward a group of people with a gun in his right hand, but held at his side.
On the recording, at least three times someone yelled “put it down” as Hammond continued walking.
At no time on the recording did Hammond ever appear to raise the gun before gunshots are heard, and he can be seen falling to the pavement.
Another burst of gunfire is then heard, and the neighbor ducks for cover and stops recording.
