Crash victim beaten after cops collide with car

An incident involving mistaken identity turned into a grotesque nightmare for an innocent young Black man here in Cleveland on Aug. 24. The event is part of a continuing pattern of police abuse targeting the Black community, particularly youth.

Cleveland police chased a suspect into neighboring Warrensville Heights at 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 and lost control of their vehicle. The police car hit the median, jumped over it, crashed into a car and finally hit a pole 50 feet down the road. Both of the cops were badly injured. The suspect had fled.

The car the police hit flipped on its side. The driver of that car was Namir Spratt and he happened to be young (23) and Black. He too was injured. He managed to crawl out of the sun roof of his car. At about that time police reinforcements were arriving from Cleveland and Warrensville Heights.

The story of what happened next was not published in Cleveland’s corporate newspaper, the Plain Dealer. Only the Call and Post, a weekly newspaper oriented to the Black community, published the story.

According to Spratt, the late-arriving cops not only handcuffed him, they punched him, hit him and jabbed him in the ribs with their nightsticks. Spratt states that the officer “told me that they hoped I die. They said I killed two cops and that they should kill me. One of the cops pulled a gun in my face and said that he ought to kill me ‘right now.’” (Call and Post, Aug. 29)

The abuse continued until two Black Cleveland cops arrived and shielded Spratt. They also called for Emergency Medical Service for Spratt. EMS had only been alerted to the injured police up to that point. At the hospital Spratt was diagnosed with a punctured liver and a ruptured spleen.

The original suspect was apprehended several hours later. The injured police are still in the hospital, one with serious head and face injuries and the other with a fractured knee and pelvis.

Spratt’s family is now being represented by attorney George Forbes, president of the Cleveland NAACP and former Cleveland City Council member.