(CLEVELAND, Ohio) — May 13, 2022 – A Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict law enforcement officers in the death of Kevin Giesel, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.
“The grand jury determined that the officers involved in this shooting should not face any criminal charges,” Yost said. “In full transparency, BCI’s case files have now been proactively published for anyone to review the investigation.”
Giesel, 64, of Parma, was shot and killed by the Southwest Enforcement Bureau SWAT team on June 14, 2021, at his home in Parma, 5714 South Park Blvd.
The Parma Police Department requested that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) conduct the investigation of the officer-involved critical incident.
BCI determined that on June 13, an off-duty officer witnessed Giesel striking a female companion inside his truck at a gas station. The officer intervened, at which point Giesel discharged a firearm and fled in his vehicle back to his home. Law enforcement established a perimeter around his residence for many hours. The standoff ended when Giesel began shooting and the SWAT team returned fire.
Once completed, BCI’s investigation was referred to a special prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office, appointed by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor to present the case to a grand jury. The grand jury issued a “no bill” indictment today.
As part of its efforts to document all pertinent facts of the incident, BCI did the following:
- Interviewed the officers involved in the stand-off, three civilian witnesses, and family members or associates of Giesel.
- Reviewed footage from dash cameras, body cameras and all available surveillance video that captured any portion of the incident.
- Processed the crime scene for potential evidence, including photographing, searching, measuring, documenting and collecting evidence.
- Conducted forensic laboratory examinations, including identification of firearms, casings and bullets, as well as firearm operability testing.
- Evaluated training and personnel records of the involved officers.
BCI’s case files have been posted to the attorney general’s website. The site archives case files for officer-involved critical incidents only after a case is closed, as state law prohibits any earlier release in order to ensure a fair investigation and judicial process.