The Ohio Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction for the man who killed Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick in 2022.
鈥淭his is a victory for Firefighter Tetrick's family and Ohio's first responders,鈥� said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O鈥橫alley. 鈥淔irefighter Tetrick died while serving the public after Leander Bissell sped through a clearly marked accident scene, traversed the berm, striking Tetrick, and fled.鈥�
Tetrick died while responding to a crash on Interstate 90 on Nov. 19, 2022. First responders at the scene closed part of the freeway and Tetrick was crossing the road on foot.
At the same time, Leander Bissell was driving a white sedan at 49 miles per hour, weaving around police cars before his car hit Tetrick. Tetrick was thrown more than 100 feet and died from his injuries.
Bissell drove away and was later arrested by Cleveland police. He was convicted in 2023 of murder, felonious assault and several other counts in a bench trial. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 16 years.
Bissell successfully appealed the conviction to the Eighth District Court of Appeals, arguing that his conduct did not fit the requirements of a murder conviction because he did not intend to strike or kill Tetrick.
鈥淎ccording to the Eighth District, no evidence existed to show that Bissell had seen Tetrick in the roadway or that Bissell had deliberately aimed his car at Tetrick,鈥� Justice Patrick Fischer wrote in his opinion. 鈥淚nstead, the Eighth District reasoned, Bissell ignored the surrounding circumstances, such as the heavy police presence and traffic moving into the right two lanes, and disregarded a substantial risk of harm, which was a hallmark of reckless conduct.鈥�
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office appealed the Eighth District鈥檚 decision to the Supreme Court, which released its opinion Friday.
鈥淎s the Ohio Supreme Court states, 'The Eighth District鈥檚 reasoning is wrong,'鈥� said O鈥橫alley. 鈥淭hankfully, their decision today corrected that wrong."
In his opinion, Fischer wrote that Bissell only needed to be aware that his actions would likely result in harm.
鈥淭he evidence presented by the State showed that Bissell was driving at night on a four-lane interstate when he encountered a traffic slowdown and a heavy police presence,鈥� Fischer wrote. 鈥淚nstead of proceeding with caution, Bissell swerved in between lanes, onto the shoulder of the road, and around at least four parked police vehicles, which were blocking the left two lanes of travel.鈥�
The justices voted unanimously to reinstate Bissell鈥檚 murder conviction and sent the case back to the appeals court.
