This article was published in partnership with , a nonprofit news team covering Ohio鈥檚 criminal justice systems, and .
Cuyahoga County Sheriff鈥檚 Deputy Isen Vajusi pointed an assault rifle out a window while speeding more than 100 mph at times during a December 2024 chase of a stolen car, bodycam footage shows.
Once the fleeing car crashed and flipped into a telephone pole, Vajusi jumped out, pointed his rifle at one suspect and shouted numerous vulgarities. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to kill people,鈥� Vajusi yelled, according to a review of the footage by The Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland.
He later boasted about the arrest: 鈥淲e got the dudes. We got the car. We didn鈥檛 shoot anybody. It can鈥檛 get any better than this. 鈥� I鈥檓 glad I didn鈥檛 have to use my gun this time.鈥�
Efforts to reach Vajusi and Deputy Joshua Varga, who was driving the car, were unsuccessful. Sheriff Harold Pretel declined an interview. He would not answer specific questions, like whether the chase violated the pursuit policy or whether he had viewed the video.
鈥淲e stand behind our pursuit policy, which prioritizes the safety of both the public and our deputies,鈥� a statement said. 鈥淭his policy allows deputies to respond quickly to serious threats while minimizing risks. The policy also reflects our commitment to protecting our community in a responsible and effective manner.鈥�
The tactics Vajusi and Varga used in the chase highlight growing concerns about how the controversial Downtown Safety Patrol unit operates on the same streets where Cleveland police are held to higher standards to prevent abuse under a federal consent decree.
Jeff Wenninger, a Cleveland-area expert on police tactics, called the bodycam footage troubling and said deputies lack proper training. The deputies put the public at risk by breaking best practices, especially by trying to ram a fleeing car while traveling at high speed, he said.
鈥淭his was sloppy, unsafe, and shows a lack of discipline,鈥� said Wenninger, the founder and CEO of . 鈥淭hey were cowboys. It鈥檚 not how policing is best done today in the modern era.鈥�
For more than eight months, The Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland have been examining how the downtown unit operates.
The sheriff to expand the downtown unit countywide at a Cuyahoga County Council meeting in November 2024.
Despite growing concerns over potential liability and costs after and a high-speed chase that, Cuyahoga County Council members backed down months ago from threats of .
Cuyahoga County Councilman Mike Gallagher, chair of the county鈥檚 Public Safety Committee, said the deputies鈥� actions during the pursuit are troubling.
鈥淓verything about the Downtown Safety Patrol has been rushed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was not well-thought-out. It is disturbing that lives are being put at risk.鈥�
Amid a slew of public record requests, a Cuyahoga County official mistakenly sent the December chase footage to the news outlets.
The chase started after Vajusi and Varga said they heard gunshots near East 13th Street and Hamilton Avenue.
The deputies saw a person with a handgun get inside a blue Kia Optima. Deputies tried to stop the car, but it fled, according to a sheriff鈥檚 incident report. At first, Vajusi held his pistol in his right hand before he switched to the rifle.
When the stolen car slowed below 60 mph, deputies tried a maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Technique) designed to turn vehicles sideways to make them stop, the report stated.
The bodycam video shows Vajusi telling a dispatcher their location. Varga is heard saying their speed aloud, as high as 107 mph. Six seconds after he said 97 mph, Varga told Vajusi he was 鈥渁ttempting a PIT鈥� to stop the car. It failed.
鈥淏e careful pitting at these high speeds, bro,鈥� Vajusi said.
Varga rammed the car again. 鈥淵ou got it. Take them out,鈥� Vajusi said.
The car continued to flee but rolled over. As Vajusi ran toward the car with the rifle, someone opened the passenger door.
鈥淜eep fucking looking at me, bitch,鈥� Vajusi yelled.
Varga screamed: 鈥淟et me see your fucking hands, asshole.鈥�
The chase lasted more than five minutes. Deputies arrested two young men, a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old, and found two handguns in the car, the incident report said.
The department鈥檚 pursuit policy states that deputies must obtain supervisor approval before initiating a pursuit or using pursuit intervention tactics, and that ramming a fleeing vehicle should be a last resort.
Bodycam footage does not show Varga or Vajusi getting permission to chase or ram the car.
Wenninger called it alarming for Vajusi to point the rifle out the window and a 鈥渂latant disregard鈥� for violating the pursuit policy. Even with adrenaline rushing, deputies should have treated people with respect, as inflammatory language often escalates situations, he said.
鈥淭heir crude language and unprofessional barking of commands made it clear they were operating with no discipline, no composure and no regard for proper tactics,鈥� he said.
The chase is not Vajusi鈥檚 first controversial incident with a gun.
The Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland that Vajusi was forced off a suburban police force after he failed field training. The force found that he lacked confidence, had difficulty in stressful situations and 鈥渉esitates because he is afraid of making a mistake.鈥�
Two months before the December 2024 chase, Vajusi had in the leg. This May, he fired rounds at another teenager in Cleveland. After the May shooting, Vajusi was temporarily assigned to the Electronic Monitoring Unit, county records show.
On July 5, a Facebook post by the Cleveland police K9 Unit praised Vajusi for helping arrest three men with guns in a stolen car. The news outlets asked about Vajusi鈥檚 status, and were told that he was assigned back to the downtown unit for one case, but was still with the Electronic Monitoring Unit.
On Aug. 19, Kelly Woodard, the county鈥檚 director of communications, wrote that Vajusi is back with the downtown unit, but on administrative duty.
