A prominent civil-rights attorney pleaded not guilty to a felony gun charge Tuesday after authorities found an unloaded concealed handgun in his carry-on bag at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Saturday.
David Malik was arrested on Saturday and held overnight in jail before being released on a personal bond.
Malik said he had been target shooting with a concealed-carry instructor and inadvertently brought the .22-caliber handgun, along with ammo, to the airport. Authorities confirmed the gun was unloaded.
"I participated in a target shooting class recently with a certified CCW instructor and I simply forgot to remove it from my bag," Malik said in a statement. "I used the bag to pack for my trip. It was a stupid mistake."
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Malik was the original attorney for the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014. The boy was killed outside a recreation center by an officer responding to a report of a man with a gun.
Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said: "What's interesting about David is he is such an anti-gun person. He's such an anti-violence person, and of all the things for him to get arrested for, that really surprises me."
Malik has represented several high-profile clients suing the city and its police department for wrongful deaths and civil-rights violations. He speaks out frequently against police brutality and the need for reforms in law enforcement.
Malik also represents the family of Tanisha Anderson, who died in November 2014 in police custody after her family called officers saying she was causing a disturbance. And he also represented the family of Malissa Williams, who died along with Timothy Russell in November 2012 after a police chase ended in a hail of gunfire.