A November car chase ended in a "full blown-out" firefight, with glass and bullets flying, according to Cleveland police officers who described for investigators the chaotic scene at the end of the deadly 25-minute pursuit.
But when the smoky haze -- caused by rapid fire of nearly 140 bullets in less than 30 seconds -- dissipated, it soon became clear that more than a dozen officers had been firing at one another across a middle school parking lot in East Cleveland.
Soon after the shooting stopped, one officer rushed to check the two occupants of the 1979 Chevrolet Malibu that the cadre of Cleveland cruisers had followed into the lot.
Officer Wilfredo Diaz, a former city EMS worker, had fired the first shots at the Malibu after bailing out of his car. He felt for passenger Malissa Williams' pulse.
There wasn't one.
Diaz moved Williams' leg slightly to look for a gun. Again, there wasn't one. Dead next to Williams in the driver's seat was Timothy Russell, 43. No officers were injured.