(CLEVELAND, Ohio) — A Cuyahoga County grand jury has declined to indict a law enforcement officer in the death of Innes Kirk Lee Jr., and to be as transparent as possible, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost published the complete investigative files on the web, available for anyone to see.
“The grand jury rules that the officer acted properly based on its review of a thorough, independent investigation,” Yost said. “The goal is always to find the truth.”
On April 15, 2021, 25-year-old Lee was fatally shot by Cleveland Division of Police officer Daniel Piper in the area of 4281 E. 134th St. in Cleveland. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department investigated the shooting, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Crime Scene Unit assisted.
On Feb. 24, the case was presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury by a special prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office. The grand jury declined to indict the officer involved.
The investigative files have been posted to the attorney general’s website.
The case files include, among other records, field reports, dispatch records, crime scene reports, and interviews with the officers involved. Personnel files of the involved officers have also been made public, along with camera footage of the incident. Minor redactions may be made for information protected by law, such as social security numbers and names of juveniles.
“Trust comes from consistent actions taken over time,” Yost said. “Once again, we will publish the full investigation on our searchable website for critical incident investigations.”
The attorney general’s webpage houses case files for officer-involved critical incidents only after a case is closed, as state law prohibits any earlier release in order to ensure a fair investigation and judicial process.
