CLEVELAND — New video from business surveillance cameras show the beginning of a Cleveland police pursuit that is under internal review.
OSHP confirmed Michael Yearout was pursued by Cleveland police at some point before Yearout ran a red light and smashed into a semi on February 19.
Paul Yeagle says he was driving behind Yearout, who was his friend.
“We’re cruising right about here and he like makes an abrupt turn,” Yeagle said.
Yeagle returned to the site where he last saw his friend alive that morning.
“I take a little responsibility, like not being involved more in his life because we were friends,” Yeagle said.
Private Property Impounds shared its surveillance video with News 5 Investigators that the manager says was also given to police.
In the video, you see an officer pull onto Gilmore from a daycare lot and turn on emergency lights.
The officer gets behind the car Yeagle says his friend was driving.
“I was right behind him he kind of put the brakes on pretty quick so I was like oh he’s turning left he stopped right here. Like right in here. So I pulled up behind him. We made eye contact. It was the last time I made eye contact with him,” Yeagle said.
A sign on the street corner restricts left turns at certain day times.
Yeagle says the two were heading to a roofing gig.
After the officer got behind his friend, Yeagle says he kept on going to the job site.
A different camera captured what appeared to be a slow chase.
“I didn’t know three minutes later he was going to be dead.” Yeagle said.
Surveillance footage in Linndale shows Yearout slamming into a semi at W. 117th and Bellaire.
“They chased him, how far did you chase him, how far did you chase him, that's what I’d like to know,” said Yearout’s father, Gregory Yearout, Sr.
Yearout’s father has questions that have yet to be answered.
It’s been twelve weeks since the pursuit and deadly crash.
Last week, police said no decision was made on the internal investigation.
“If I had not been following him they would not have known.” Yeagle said.
In March, News 5 Investigators first reported about an internal city memo that said a member of the Division was engaged in a pursuit without it being called in resulting in a fatal crash in Linndale, and the federal monitoring team was notified.
“I didn’t believe it at first honestly I really didn’t,” Yeagle said.
Yeagle told me Yearout was his last friend.
“Yeah he was my last friend, my last true friend,” Yeagle said.
Ever since that February morning, Yeagle says he wishes he would have been in the same car to tell him to stop.
"The cops lit him up and they need to say why they lit him up,” Yeagle said.
Yeagle says he wanted to speak up in hopes of getting answers for his friend's family.
