Officers involved in a 2012 vehicle pursuit and shooting in Cleveland are suing the city and police officials, alleging racial discrimination.

They claim the defendants have a pattern of treating non-African American officers harsher than African American officers, when it comes to officer-involved shootings of African Americans. The plaintiffs in the federal suit are not African American, CNN reports.

The 2012 incident cited in the suit began when officers saw a car speeding and heard what they thought was a gunshot directed towards them. It involved a nearly 25-minute chase and ended in a hail of 137 bullets, killing two people. Both were African American. No weapon was ever found in the car.

"The City of Cleveland, through the other named defendants, and the other named defendants in their individual capacities, have a history of treating non-African American officers involved in the shootings of African Americans substantially harsher than African American officers," reads the lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

It continues: "A serious dichotomy exists as a result of the defendants' longstanding practices and procedures which place onerous burdens on non-African American officers, including the plaintiffs, because of their race and the race of persons who are the subjects of the legitimate use of deadly force."

The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.