CLEVELAND — Memories are all that Alicia Kirkman has of her son, Angelo Miller, who was shot and killed by a Cleveland Police officer in 2007.
“Angelo was a kid that, at 17 years old, like, I dropped him off at school and he was still giving me a kiss at 17 years old,” Alicia Kirkman said.
Miller was killed when a police officer fired eight shots as he tried to drive away from the police. The officer said Miller tried to hit him with his car and the city’s former chief assistant prosecutor determined the officer acted in self-defense.
Miller’s family sued, saying the city failed to properly train officers how to deal with suspects trying to get away in a car and the city settled, paying Miller’s family $35,000 in 2010.
Kirkman isn’t satisfied with just money. She wants to see a change in how shootings like the one that took her son’s life are investigated. She’s now pushing for what she calls true police accountability.
She, along with other families and organizations including NAACP Cleveland, Black Lives Matter Cleveland and Stand Up for Ohio have formed the “Citizens for a Safer Cleveland” coalition.
The group said the change they are seeking starts with the ballot.
“We are aiming to put a city of Cleveland charter amendment on the November 2021 ballot that would create independent investigations into police misconduct and that would create powerful community oversight over policing policies and community safety policies,” said Rachael Collyer of Stand Up for Ohio.
Collyer’s social advocacy group said an amendment to the city’s charter would be lasting change but making it a reality takes a lot of work and support.
“We’re aiming to get about 10,000 signatures and then once we submit it, the Clerk of Council will go ahead and verify that we have the correct number of signatures, that we actually have hit that benchmark . . . and from there, city council is mandated to pass a submission ordinance to put it onto the ballot. So it then goes to the board of elections before it ends up on the ballot,” Collyer said.
Since Miller’s death, there have been a number of controversial shootings involving Cleveland Police officers, including Tamir Rice, as well as Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who died when officers fired 137 shots into their car.
Former Cleveland Police Sergeant Richard Jackson supports the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland coalition.
Jackson said after 30 years in the division, he has seen first-hand that many Cleveland policing practices are problematic.
“Someone’s got to fix it or else it’s only going to get worse. And having been here for 30 years, I’ve seen consent decrees come and go and then everything goes right back to being the same again. Without this initiative, this is the only way that we can make sure that those prior situations don’t come back again,” Jackson said.
Kirkman said she’s hopeful that the police accountability ballot initiative campaign will be a success.
She said she’s using the memory of her son and the experiences of other mothers who’ve lost children as motivation to keep fighting.
“It might get hard. You might want to give up. You might need to take a break. And if you need to take a break, you take that break, but when you take that break, you get back up with all of that strength that you have to fight for your baby, because ain’t nobody gonna say your child’s name the way you’re gonna say your baby’s name.” Kirkman said.
