I listened to Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell read his
decision and found his thought process reasonable given the series of events
he was required to describe. Whether or not you agree with his decision is
immaterial given that the Law has spoken. And certainly people can protest
peacefully and work to improve the system that produced such a catastrophe.
Still, there are no innocent parties here. Certainly Mr. Russell should
have obeyed the order of a Police Officer to stop. What other lives were
placed in harms way because he chose to continue fleeing? But why does it
require so many police cruisers to join in a high-speed chase? Given the
length of the travel why couldn’t some sort of blockade been set up to stop
the person fleeing? Mr. Russell and Ms. Williams did not have to die
because the ultimate cause of their death could have been prevented. And
what does this say about a potential diversionary tactic that could be
employed by domestic/foreign terrorists on American soil?

For those of you in the African-American community who are tempted to be
filled with rage and hatred at every white police officer I can only say
that I had a member of my family {Patrolman Hilary Cudnik believed to be the
distant cousin of my Uncle Boley Cudnik} who was killed in the act of
performing his duty. But he was killed by a African-American. Because of
the influence handed down to me from my Paternal Grandfather {Dziadzia}
Albert Joseph Bialek and my mother {Eileen Moran Bialek} I did not react to
Hilary’s murder like most people did. I never believed that looting and
burning down businesses would solve anything and would certainly not bring
him back. My African-American brothers and sisters please refrain from
engaging in violence as it will only exacerbate the situation. But rather
let our two communities come together in reconciliation and love to make
Cleveland once again the best location in the nation if for no other reason
than to have achieved racial harmony once and for all.

Joe Bialek
Cleveland, OH