Watch: Bicyclist with fake guns causes panic in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Video released to the FOX 8 I-Team shows Cleveland police chasing a man with a suspected gun on a bike, causing panic. It led to a police chase with a surprise ending.

People on Cleveland’s west side called 911 terrified.

“There’s a guy on a bicycle with like a sawed-off shotgun,” one caller said.

“It’s a guy looking like he’s got a shotgun,” another said.

“Like, I don’t know what kind of gun, but it’s a big gun. I just left my house. I don’t want to go back,” a woman with a small child told dispatch.

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Cleveland police scrambled there, but the suspect ignored orders to stop and drop the gun.

In fact, you hear an officer tell his partner, “he’s got a gun. He’s on his bike. Get the car. Yeah, get the car, get the car.”

The police body camera and dash camera video shows officers tried to be ready for the suspect’s next move. They tried to get in front of him and cut him off.

At times, you could see three police cars with the man on the bike. A court record shows this went on for nearly two miles. It happened on roads between W. 88th Streets and W. 104th Street.

You can also hear officers struggle to figure out what to make of that gun.

“Little bit of orange on that tip, so just be careful,” one officer said.

“Yeah, I can’t tell if its real or not,” another officer responded.

Police finally arrested Michael Paden. They say he dumped the bike and took off on foot.

As police arrested him, he said, “get your hands off of me.”

“Shut up,” an officer answered.

Police say they then found the suspect had two guns. Both of them were fake. One was a black toy shotgun. The other was a fake handgun with what appeared to be an extended magazine for more bullets.

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Police say the man on the bike had threatened people in cars and on the streets with the weapons.

At the justice center, Paden pleaded guilty to inducing panic. A city judge gave him credit for seven days he spent in jail after getting arrested, but he can’t hop back on the bike.

County court also just locked him up for five months for violating probation in two drug cases.

It was a surprise ending, but no one took the chance of waiting to find out if the guns were fake.

“It doesn’t look like a toy,” one 911 caller said.

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