Saturday, May 23, 2015
Associated Press
CLEVELAND
A white Cleveland patrolman who fired down through the windshield of a suspect’s car at the end of a 137-shot barrage that left the two unarmed black occupants dead was acquitted Saturday of criminal charges by a judge who said he could not determine the officer alone fired the fatal shots.
Michael Brelo, 31, put his head in hands as the judge issued a verdict that prompted an angry response outside the courthouse, including chants of “Hands up! Don’t Shoot!”
The acquittal came at a time of nationwide tension among police and black citizens punctuated by protests over deaths of black suspects at the hands of white officers — and following a determination by the U.S. Department of Justice that city police had a history of using excessive force and violating civil rights.
Before issuing his verdict, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell noted the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore over the deaths of black suspects but said he would not “sacrifice” Brelo to an angry public if the evidence did not merit a conviction.
“Guilty or not guilty, the verdict should be no cause for a civilized society to celebrate or riot,” he said.
Brelo — who fired a total of 49 shots, including 15 down 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 for his role in the end of a chase that began after Timothy Russell’s car backfired.
His sister, Michelle Russell, said she believed Brelo would ultimately face justice, despite the judge’s decision.
“He’s not going to dodge this just because he was acquitted,” she said. “God will have the final say.”
The officers who surrounded the car were angry that the pair didn’t pull over and didn’t give them a chance to surrender, she said.
“They did not deserve to die for fleeing,” she said.
Michelle Russell urged protesters to be peaceful and work for real solutions.
“We need to organize and figure out a way to stop this from happening again,” she said.
Community and city leaders braced for the possibility of unrest in response to the verdict, which came as investigators work toward making a decision on whether charges will be filed in the death of a black 12-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun who was shot by a white rookie officer late last year.
One activist, Carol Steiner, said the verdict is “a very bad precedent for Cleveland” with a decision still to come in the death of the 12-year-old, Tamir Rice. “Police murder people of color and not have to serve one day in jail.”
The U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI will begin reviewing the testimony and evidence and review all available legal options, said Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“We will continue our assessment, review all available legal options, and will collaboratively determine what, if any, additional steps are available and appropriate given the requirements and limitations of the applicable laws in the federal judicial system,” said the joint statement.
After the verdict, about 30 sheriff’s deputies stood in front of the courthouse bearing clear shields as protesters with bullhorns chanted. One demonstrator bowed his head with hands folded in front of the phalanx of deputies, praying in silence.
The deputies then moved inside the entrance of the justice center, and the plaza in front of the building was soon cordoned off.
O’Donnell spent nearly an hour summing up his conclusion, an involved explanation that included mannequins marked with the gunshot wounds that the two motorists suffered on Nov. 29, 2012.
O’Donnell said that while Brelo likely fired fatal shots in the final seconds of the encounter in a school parking lot, other officers fired fatal shots as well. Brelo could have been convicted of lesser charges of felonious assault, but O’Donnell determined his actions were justified in shooting, which included reports of shots being fired from the beat-up Chevy Malibu that Timothy Russell was driving, because they perceived a threat.
Brelo’s lead attorney, Patrick D’Angelo, told reporters after the verdict his team was “humbled by the verdict but not emboldened by it.”
“Officer Brelo risked his life on that night,” D’Angelo said, only to be attacked by prosecutors in a case he called a “blood fight.”
“I’ve never in my 37 years witnessed such a vicious and unprofessional prosecution of a police officer,” he said.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said he respects the judge’s decision and urged others to do so, as well.
Zach Reed, a councilman who represents a black area of southeast Cleveland, said he thought Brelo should have been guilty of felonious assault. “We may not agree with the decision but we will not pillage, loot and burn the city as a result of this verdict,” he said.