Demonstrators pause to stand in solidarity during a protest against the acquittal of Michael Brelo, a patrolman charged in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects
Police in riot gear made more than a dozen arrests as crowds protested the acquittal of a white Ohio patrolman who fired through the windshield of a suspect’s car at the end of a 137-shot barrage that killed the two unarmed black occupants.
A judge said Saturday that he could not determine the officer alone fired the fatal shots.
Michael Brelo, 31, put his head in his hands as the judge issued the verdict. Angry, but mostly orderly, protests followed. Some held a mock funeral, carrying signs asking, “Will I be next?”
The acquittal came at a time of nationwide tension over the deaths of black suspects at the hands of white officers, and following a determination by the U.S. Department of Justice that Cleveland police had a history of using excessive force and violating civil rights.
“In many American places people are angry with, mistrusting and fearful of the police,” Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell said before issuing his verdict.
But O’Donnell said he would not “sacrifice” Brelo to an angry public if the evidence did not merit a conviction.
Brelo — who fired a total of 49 shots, including 15 through the windshield while standing on the hood of the suspects’ vehicle — faced as many as 22 years in prison had the judge convicted him on two counts of voluntary manslaughter.
The deaths occurred after Timothy Russell’s beat-up car backfired outside police headquarters on Nov. 29, 2012. Thirteen officers fired at the car with Russell and Malissa Williams inside after a 35-kilometer chase that involved 62 marked and unmarked cars and reached 160 kilometers.
Russell, 43, and Williams, 30, were each shot more than 20 times. Brelo was the only officer charged because prosecutors said he waited until the pair was no longer a threat to fire his final 15 rounds.
Authorities never learned why Russell didn’t stop the car. He hada criminal record including convictions for receiving stolen property and robbery. Williams had convictions for drug-related charges and attempted abduction. Both were described as homeless. A crack pipe was found in the car.
The U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI will review the testimony and evidence and examine all available legal options, said Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Mark Gillispie, Cleveland, AP
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