CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office will be arguing the hit-and-run crash case that killed on-duty Cleveland Firefighter Johnny Tetrick (State v. Bissell) at the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

The oral arguments will be live-streamed online at SupremeCourt.Ohio.gov or the Ohio Channel.

“Firefighter Johnny Tetrick’s tragic death was not an accident. Leander Bissell made a conscious decision to drive around clearly marked safety vehicles, accelerate through an active emergency scene, strike Firefighter Tetrick, and then flee without stopping. We believe, under the law, that is murder.”

– Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley

On November 19, 2022, around 8:14 p.m., there was a rollover vehicle accident on Interstate 90 Eastbound near Martin Luther King Boulevard in Bratenahl. The Cleveland Division of Police (CDP), the Cleveland Division of Fire, and the Bratenahl Police Department (BPD) responded to the scene. Police vehicles and fire department vehicles, with their lights on, were located on the interstate in both left lanes, and traffic merged into the two right lanes.

Leander Bissell, 41, drove his vehicle around the left side of the police cruiser (onto the shoulder of the highway), veered right into the second lane on the left, and accelerated his speed according to video evidence. Bissel then struck Cleveland Firefighter Johnny Tetrick, 51, as he was clearing debris on scene. Bissell, without braking, immediately fled the scene. Cleveland Firefighter Tetrick was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

An investigation conducted by BPD with assistance from CPD located the vehicle matching the suspected vehicle’s description and suspected damage near East 152nd Street and Ridpath Avenue in Cleveland later that night. Leander Bissell was placed under arrest.

On July 20, 2023, Leander Bissell was found guilty of murder among other charges. On August 15, 2023, Bissell was sentenced to life in prison with the first eligibility of parole after 16 years.

On November 7, 2024, the Eighth District Court of Appeals overturned the murder conviction, finding the State failed to prove that Bissell acted “knowingly” when he fatally struck Cleveland Firefighter Johnny Tetrick. Instead, they found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which would impose a sentence of up to 11 years.

The State of Ohio appealed that decision to the Supreme Court of Ohio. The State’s position is clear under R.C. 2901.22(B):

A person acts knowingly under R.C. 2901.22(B) when the person is aware that the conduct will probably cause a certain result. As a heightened form of recklessness, it does not require that person to purposefully intend to cause the resulting harm.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office will argue Leander Bissell acted knowingly, as he sped through a closed-off scene and was aware of the risk to other drivers, pedestrians, and first responders.