Luke Stewart Was Unarmed When Euclid Police Officer Shot Him During Altercation

[image-1]Several details have trickled out of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation's look into a Euclid police officer-involved shooting on March 13. According to the BCI, the victim, 23-year-old Luke Stewart, was unarmed.

An as yet unidentified police officer shot Stewart during some sort of altercation that may have taken place inside Stewart's car. The play-by-play of the incident is unconfirmed, but Stewart did die at Euclid Hospital.

Cleveland.com uploaded police dispatch audio that has the officer stating that Stewart "tried to run us both over." It's not yet clear if the BCI investigation will conclude whether Stewart was using his car as a weapon.

According to the Euclid police department, the officer was originally responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on South Lakeshore. Something must have happened, as it appears a chase ensued and brought the officer and Stewart to East 222nd and Milton, about a block away.

Once both cars had stopped, the dispatch audio then has the officer saying, "Three-nine is in the vehicle with him! Three-nine is in the vehicle!"

The police dispatcher reiterates: "Thirty-nine is inside the vehicle."

Then the officer says, "Shots fired. Shots fired."

According to departmental policy, the officer has been placed on administrative leave. He was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical evaluation and treated for minor injuries.