CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Eighth District Court of Appeals’ decision in the case that killed on-duty Cleveland Firefighter Johnny Tetrick (State v. Bissell), upholding Leander Bissell’s murder conviction.

You can read the Ohio Supreme Court’s slip opinion here.

“This is a victory for Firefighter Tetrick’s family and Ohio’s first responders. Firefighter Tetrick died while serving the public after Leander Bissell sped through a clearly marked accident scene, traversed the berm striking Tetrick, and fled. As the Ohio Supreme Court states, ‘The Eighth District’s reasoning is wrong.’ Thankfully, their decision today corrected that wrong.”

– 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 CDP 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 for 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.

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Eighth District Court of Appeals’ decision, upholding Leander Bissell’s murder conviction, agreeing with all of the State’s propositions of law.

“The Eighth District’s reasoning is wrong … an offender’s purpose or intention to cause a result is not required when determining an offender’s knowledge, ‘only an awareness of the probable consequences of one’s actions.’

“… Sufficient evidence exists to establish that Bissell was aware that his conduct would probably cause serious physical harm to a bystander or first responder like Tetrick for purposes of Bissell’s felony-murder conviction.” — State v. Bissell, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-1965

While Leander Bissell’s murder conviction currently stands, the case will be remanded back to the Eighth District Court of Appeals for further proceedings and additional appellate arguments.