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Christian Alexander Tyson Thomas

Age : 18

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/29/2024

Location : 1300 block of Yellowstone Road

City : Cleveland Heights

County : Cuyahoga

State : Ohio

Agency : Cleveland Police Department

Officer(s) :Stevens

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during disturbance call

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2024, shortly before 10 p.m., Cleveland Heights police responded to the 1300 block of Yellowstone Road after Christian Alexander Tyson Thomas's family called 911 during a dispute between Thomas, 18, and his father. Family members reported that Thomas had a handgun, and the 911 call indicated that gunfire had occurred inside the house.
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Police surrounded the house rather than immediately entering. Officers requested a negotiator and SWAT response while family members who had left the residence provided police with information about what had occurred inside.
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Cleveland Heights Police Chief Christopher Britton initially said witnesses reported seeing Thomas at the doorway holding a gun. Officers then heard a loud bang or gunshot, and Thomas came out of the house and ran along its side, where three Cleveland Heights officers fired at him. Importantly, Britton acknowledged after reviewing available body-camera footage that he did not see Thomas holding a gun or pointing a gun at officers in the footage he reviewed.
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Later-released body-camera footage provided a more complicated picture of the shooting than the initial police account. Hours of footage and 911 recordings were eventually released, but the earliest videos provided to the public were from officers positioned on the opposite side of the house and did not show the actual shooting. Thomas's family publicly demanded release of all recordings, reports and the identities of the three officers who fired.
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Police recovered a handgun and spent shell casing from the grass near the house. The subsequent Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation case file contains statements from Thomas's father and sister indicating that they believed Thomas fired outside immediately before police shot him. These statements are part of the investigative record; the body-camera footage itself did not establish that Thomas was holding a gun when the officers opened fire.
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Thomas was struck multiple times and died at the scene. A federal lawsuit later filed by his father alleges that the three officers fired 25 rounds and that nine bullets struck Thomas. The lawsuit alleges that Thomas was unarmed at the moment police shot him and that the officers used excessive and unconstitutional deadly force.
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The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted the outside investigation. Its extensive case file includes officer interviews, body-camera reviews, dispatch records, forensic firearms and DNA testing, scene processing, an autopsy review, personnel and training records for the three shooting officers, and the grand-jury presentation.
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In July 2025, a Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict any of the three Cleveland Heights officers. Cleveland Heights subsequently announced an internal and administrative review of the shooting and its policies.
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On 08/29/2025, Thomas's father, Ferrel Thomas, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit arising from his son's killing. The lawsuit alleges Fourth Amendment violations, wrongful death and other claims against the three officers. The family specifically alleges that Thomas was unarmed when the officers fired at him.
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Thomas was born on 06/11/2006 in Cleveland. He attended Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools and graduated from Cleveland Heights High School. He had competed in spelling bees and a John Carroll University mathematics competition, won a Black History Month essay award, played numerous sports and was a saxophonist. His obituary describes him as a jokester who enjoyed cooking, video games, fitness and spending time outdoors.
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A verified GoFundMe was established on behalf of Thomas's father and family following his death to assist with funeral expenses and continuing family support.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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Although investigative records and the family's subsequent federal lawsuit establish that three Cleveland Heights police officers fired at Thomas, their identities remain redacted in the publicly released BCI investigative materials reviewed for this update.
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SOURCE LINKS

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/18-year-old-man-dies-in-police-shooting-in-cleveland-heights-no-officers-injured
https://fox8.com/news/family-of-teen-shot-and-killed-by-cleveland-heights-police-addresses-media/
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/family-of-man-shot-by-cleveland-heights-police-ask-city-to-release-all-bodycam-footage
https://www.ideastream.org/law-justice/2024-09-10/family-of-18-year-old-killed-by-cleveland-heights-police-calls-for-full-release-of-records
https://www.ideastream.org/law-justice/2024-09-20/cleveland-heights-police-released-hours-of-footage-from-august-shooting-what-does-it-show
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-heights-grand-jury-declines-to-charge-3-officers-involved-in-shooting-death-of-christian-thomas
https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/09/02/family-sues-cleveland-heights-officers-who-shot-killed-teen/
https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/InvestigativeDocuments
https://www.gainesfuneralhome.com/obituary/Christian-Thomas
GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-thomas-family-through-this-tragedy