Cleveland Heights mayor, family of teen killed by police hold separate press conferences
The conferences happened within hours of each other Tuesday
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) - The family of the 18-year-old killed by Cleveland Heights police and the City of Cleveland Heights both held press conferences Tuesday following the release of two bodycam videos.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating after Cleveland Heights police shot and killed teenager Christian Thomas after a domestic dispute August 30.
Thomas family press conference
The family of 18-year-old Christian Thomas, who was shot and killed by Cleveland Heights police Aug. 30, held a press conference Tuesday, asking police to release all of the bodycam from the incident.
During the 11 a.m. press conference, representatives of the family asked for transparency from police.
Kayla Griffin, president of the Cleveland NAACP branch, said the organization would be sending a letter requesting all of the bodycam footage be released for a complete investigation.
Cleveland Heights police released bodycam footage from two of the officers on-scene at the time of the incident.
Neighbors of the family said the shooting happened just feet away from the “Black Lives Matter’ sign in their front yard.
City of Cleveland Heights Press Conference
Cleveland Heights mayor Kahlil Seren held a press conference Tuesday afternoon, hours after the Thomas family’s legal representation spoke outside Cleveland Heights City Hall.
During the conference, the mayor clarified that all evidence had been handed over to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and compliance with their investigation began immediately.
“We want to make sure that this is a completely above board process,” Seren said Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to the two videos released Tuesday, the city plans to release bodycam footage to the public as the law department clears them for publication.
Bodycam will be made available to the family before it is made to the public, Seren clarified.
“Nothing that we are doing here is intended to obfuscate or obscure the truth,” Seren said.
In response to the conference held earlier in the day, Seren made it clear he and the city understand their urgency.
“It is appropriate for them to come here and hold our feet to the fire, to make sure we are doing this in the right way,” Seren said.
As for the protocol the city is following, the mayor said they want to set a standard both nationally and locally for how situations of this nature are handled.
“We are striving to be a model both in this region and nation wide for how we respond to these types of incidents,” the mayor said.
“We know that his life mattered. it is important to us that we get this right.”
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