Surveillance and body-camera footage released this week show an off-duty Cleveland Police officer shooting and killing a 26-year-old man in the parking lot of the Park Place Apartments in the 1400 block of East Boulevard last Wednesday. The release has kicked off a criminal investigation by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department and put the officer on unpaid administrative leave.
What the video shows
The surveillance clip starts at about 7:12 p.m., capturing a silver car pulling into the Park Place lot. A man gets out with what appears to be a handgun, then later comes back to the vehicle and retrieves what looks like a rifle. The video cuts out for a stretch, then comes back roughly 40 minutes later, when 26-year-old Akili Hammond is seen walking toward the parked car before he is hit by gunfire.
Multiple law-enforcement sources have identified the shooter as 22-year-old Myron Priest, an off-duty Cleveland officer. News 5 reports that Priest was hired in April 2025 and was placed on unpaid leave on May 22.
Earlier trouble and union response
Hours before the shooting, there had already been trouble at the complex. The I-Team at FOX 8 reports that a separate 911 call brought on-duty officers to the same address earlier in the day and that those officers briefly interacted with the off-duty officer as they left that first scene.
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association has come out firmly behind the officer. Union president Andrew Gasiewski told reporters, “The CPPA’s position is that officer is a hero,” and the union has filed a grievance over his suspension, according to FOX 8.
Family demands answers
Hammond's family is publicly pushing back on that narrative. They are calling for the release of all available surveillance footage, dispatch audio and the officer's identity, and they are questioning why, in their view, witnesses at the scene were handled differently.
Cleveland 19 published the family's statement and noted that the shooting took place in the parking lot near 1435–1451 East Boulevard. The family says witnesses described heavy gunfire involving multiple people and is demanding transparency as the investigation continues.
What investigators say
Investigators say it was not just one person firing. According to body-camera footage and dispatch records, multiple people opened fire during the confrontation and at least three other people at the scene were armed.
News 5 reports that after the shooting, the officer appears to move through the parking lot, picking up items near where Hammond collapsed. The outlet also notes that bystanders and on-duty officers attempted life-saving measures before Hammond was pronounced dead, details that come from the surveillance and body-camera accounts.
Legal and procedural questions
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department is leading the criminal probe, and prosecutors have said they may consider bringing in an outside attorney to determine whether charges are warranted. Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd told reporters she had learned the officer's actions “appear to be egregious violations of several administrative policies and general police orders,” and FOX 8 reports that the department has declined to release any internal report while the sheriff's investigation is underway.
Next steps
So far, no arrests have been announced, and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department has not offered a timeline for wrapping up its investigation, leaving families and neighbors waiting for answers.
Advocates and friends of Hammond say the footage raises difficult questions about when and how off-duty officers are armed in civilian spaces. City officials, for their part, have said more details will be released once the sheriff's inquiry is complete, as reported by Cleveland 19.
