Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

The bullet-ridden windshield of the car. Apexchange
Cleveland

Police officer who shot 49 bullets into car where two died found not guilty

The acquittal sparked protests in Cleveland.

POLICE IN RIOT gear made numerous arrests overnight as protesters took to the streets after a Cleveland judge found a city police officer not guilty in the deaths of two unarmed black suspects killed in a barrage of police gunfire.

Michael Brelo, 31, faces administrative charges while remaining suspended without pay after his acquittal Saturday on two counts of voluntary manslaughter, but he no longer faces the prospect of prison. The anxious city now awaits a decision on criminal charges against a white officer in the fatal shooting of a black 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun.

Brelo and 12 other officers fired 137 shots at a car with Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams inside it on 29 November, 2012. The shooting occurred at the end of a 22-mile-long chase involving more than 100 Cleveland police officers and 60 cruisers after Russell’s Chevy Malibu backfired while speeding by police headquarters.

Michael Brelo, Patrick DAngelo Michael Brelo hugs his attorney, Patrick D’Angelo, after the verdict in his trial. Apexchange Apexchange

During the chase, an officer reported that he thought he’d seen Williams with a gun. At the end, police mistook police gunfire for shots from Russell’s car.

Brelo fired 49 of those shots that night, but it was the final 15 fired into the windshield while he stood on the hood of Russell’s car that led his indictment and a four-week trial.

He faced up to 22 years in prison if convicted on both counts.

The shooting helped prompt an investigation by the US Department of Justice that concluded Cleveland police had engaged in a pattern and practice of excessive use of force and violations of people’s civil rights.

Angry but mostly orderly protests followed Saturday’s verdict. More than a dozen protesters were arrested last night for failing to disperse from an alley in the city’s Warehouse District on downtown’s west side, deputy police chief Wayne Drummond said. Several other people were arrested elsewhere downtown.

Read: Baby (1) dies after being shot in the face by toddler (3)

Read: Police in Cleveland release CCTV footage of officer shooting 12-year-old Tamir Rice

Author
Associated Foreign Press
Your Voice
Readers Comments
39
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.