View full sizeCleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath speaks to reporters about the fatal shooting Thursday of a bank robbery suspect.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Police promised a thorough investigation into Thursday night's fatal shooting of an unarmed bank robbery suspect by a veteran detective who had come to arrest him on a warrant.
Police Chief Michael McGrath said at a Friday news conference that the department is as upset as the family over the shooting death of Danny Withers Jr., 21, about 9 p.m. in the home he shared with his grandmother on East 125th Street. McGrath said the incident will be fully investigated and the city prosecutor will determine if the shooting was justified.
Withers' family has hired attorney Larry Zukerman to look into the possibility of filing a lawsuit over the shooting,
"The family is extremely upset about the needless and untimely demise of Dan Withers," Zukerman said. "The Cleveland police officer's action cast a dark pall upon Cleveland when he killed an unarmed man in the basement of his own house."
Detective Daniel Zola fired a single shot into Withers' chest as the suspect emerged with one arm raised from a closet in a dimly-lit basement. The 11-year veteran was placed on administrative leave as were the two officers who were with him at the time of the shooting.
McGrath said the chain of events began on Sept. 25 when a man robbed the Fifth Third Bank on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland.
"Danny Withers was identified as a suspect in the robbery when his fingerprints were found on the note passed to the teller and on the door of the bank," McGrath told reporters. "An arrest warrant was sworn out for Withers on a charge of aggravated robbery of a financial institution and at 8:15 p.m. Three officers, including Zola, went to his address on East 125th Street to arrest him."
Police did not know that earlier that day another arrest warrant was issued for Withers in connection with failure to appear at a probation violation hearing in August.
McGrath said the officers knocked on the front door. A man's voice came from the third floor asking, "Who is it?" The officers identified themselves and asked to be let inside. There was no answer.
A woman identified as Withers' grandmother let them in and said that Withers lived on the third floor. McGrath said she gave the officers permission to search the house. Police did not find Withers on the third floor, but found evidence that linked him to the bank robbery, McGrath said, but would not reveal the kind of evidence found.
The officers searched the house and found nothing. They started to search the basement but a Rottweiler was running loose. They called for back-up and waited until additional officers arrived.
Then, officers searched the basement and opened a closet door. They looked inside and saw nothing before walking across the room to a second closet door. One of the officers opened the door quickly while Zola stood in front of it, with his gun drawn.
"(Withers) runs out, raising his right hand," McGrath said. "Feeling threatened, Detective Zola fired one shot into the man's chest."
Zukerman, the family's lawyer, said witnesses reported police shout three times, "Get on your (expletive) knees" before they heard the shot fired.
Withers was very close to Zola when the shot was fired, McGrath said. Police performed first aid on Withers, but he was dead on arrival at Huron Hospital.
No gun was found in the house, but police found a screwdriver near the scene of the shooting, the chief said.
The use of deadly force team will review the shooting. Their investigation will also look at why the officers did not call on the SWAT unit to help arrest Withers.
Withers had several felony convictions, including one gun violation.
Cleveland attorney Michael Peterson represented Withers in several recent cases. He said Withers served a year in prison and seemed to have been doing better lately. He was stunned and saddened when told of his death.
"That's terrible," he said from New Jersey where he is attending his high school reunion. "He was a young guy who was lost. He has a nice father who was trying to straighten him out, but he became very streetwise and that's what took him down. He got involved in drugs and the life on the street and he just couldn't get out of it."
Several members of Withers' family who had gathered at the home Friday to talk to a minister declined to comment.
Withers had a juvenile record dating back to 2006 when he was arrested for driving a car without a license at the age of 16. Other juvenile cases against Withers include unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, loitering and criminal damaging in separate cases 2007.
On July 17, 2008, Withers was sentenced in adult court to a year in prison after pleading guilty to several charges including: a weapons charge from an Oct. 1, 2007 incident; a drug trafficking charge from a Nov. 7, 2007; forgery and forging identification charges from a March 12, 2008 incident and a receiving stolen property charge on Jan. 19, 2008.
He was released from prison on July 1, 2009.
But he was back in trouble less than three months later.
Withers and two other men broke into a Case Western Reserve University student's car parked on Carlton Road on Sept. 21, 2009. According to court records, Withers pleaded guilty in January to attempted theft and was put on probation.
He missed a scheduled court date in August in the case because of health issue -- the file does not say what the health issue was. The hearing was to determine if Withers had violated probation.
A warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday for missing the hearing. It was sent to the Sheriff's office on Friday -- a day after his death -- so they could arrest him.
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| Police Chief Michael McGath press conference on east side shooting. |