Cleveland officer Michael Brelo found not guilty in fatal shooting of two people
By Kimbriell Kelly May 23
A Cleveland police officer was acquitted today for his role in the 2012 fatal shooting of two unarmed people in a car after officers mistook the sound of the car backfiring as gunshots.
After a four-week trial, a judge found officer Michael Brelo, 31, not guilty of two counts of felony voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30. Russell and Williams were killed Nov. 29, 2012, after they led 62 police vehicles on a chase across Cleveland.
Prosecutions of officers for the use of deadly force are rare given there have been thousands of fatal police shootings in the past decade. When criminal charges have been pursued, officers have most often been acquitted or cleared, according to a recent analysis by the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/04/11/thousands-dead-few-prosecuted/ in conjunction with criminologist Philip M. Stinson and researchers at Bowling Green University.
Since 2005, 54 officers have been charged criminally for shooting and killing someone in the line of duty, the analysis found. Of the 35 cases that had been resolved, 21 officers were acquitted or saw their charges dropped, 11 cases resulted in convictions, and in three cases the officers entered guilty pleas and were placed on probation. Brelo is the second officer in Ohio to face charges in a decade. The other officer also was acquitted.
Brelo, a seven-year veteran, is the first of six Cleveland officers to be prosecuted in the 2012 fatal shooting of Russell and Williams. Five police supervisors — none of whom fired shots — also each face misdemeanor counts for “dereliction of duty.” No trial dates have been set.
When Russell’s Chevy Malibu finally came to a stop in East Cleveland, 13 officers opened fire, shooting at least 137 rounds into the vehicle. Brelo, prosecutors said, was the only one who continued to shoot after the threat was over. He climbed onto the hood of the Malibu and shot 15 rounds into the windshield, striking Russell, who was driving, and Williams, who was in the passenger seat.
The prosecution of Brelo has largely escaped national headlines. It comes at a time of growing national scrutiny of the use of force by law enforcement against people, especially minorities. Brelo is white and the two victims were black.
Cleveland officer Michael Brelo found not guilty in fatal shooting of two people - The Washington Post