Tensions Flare In Cleveland After 22-Year-Old Shot On West Side

Cleveland Chief of Police Calivn Williams showed up at the scene of a shooting on the city's West Side.  Protesters and bystanders at the scene claim a law enforcement officer was involved in the shooting that sent a 22-year-old to the hospital.  Photo: Cory Shaffer / Twitter

Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams went to the scene of a shooting Sunday to calm tensions in a neighborhood on edge on the city's west side.  Cleveland.com reported a 22-year-old man was rushed to a hospital in handcuffs after a shooting near West 83rd Street.  Bystanders not only reported hearing several shots fired, but according to reports on Twitter, some in the neighborhood said they believe a law enforcement officer was involved in the shooting. 

Williams was accompanied by other top brass, including Deputy Chief Wayne Drummond and Cleveland police Patrol President Steve Loomis.  The trio talked to the crowd gathered around Detroit Avenue, the scene of the shooting, which is currently closed as part of the police investigation. 

The brass may have gone to the scene because shortly after the shooting, local residents gathered on a street corner and started "yelling and chanting," WJW, Cleveland, reported.  The shooting took place in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. 

Although there were enough protesters to get the city's top brass involved -- including a man with a bullhorn -- the Cleveland Police Department has yet to clarify if a police officer was involved.  Police have confirmed a 22-year-old is in police custody, but spokespeople initially did not not confirm or deny police involvement. 

Williams said an officer fired four shots at a man who pointed his gun at officers, but the "man was not shot," instead sustaining a wound from a fence, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. 

Over the past year, police-involved shootings have triggered several significant protests, including those in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.  Cleveland hasn't been a stranger to officer-involved shootings, either: Cleveland's minority communities have been on edge since police killed Tamir Rice, 12, last November.  During subsequent protests, police arrested more than 72 people in a single evening.  The police officer who fired the shots was charged with muder last week. 

People are still gathered in Cleveland's streets, chanting and protesting.  Several blocks of Detroit Avenue are closed.  A livestream from the scene is available here.