Cleveland patrolman acquitted

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A white 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 Cleveland officer alone fired the fatal shots.

Michael Brelo, 31, put his head in his hands as the judge issued a verdict followed by angry, but peaceful, protests outside the courthouse. Police blocked furious protesters from going inside while across the city others held a mock funeral with some carrying signs asking, “Will I be next?” Demonstrations lasted into the night, and multiple arrests were made, including three people on felonious assault charges.

The acquittal came at a time of nationwide tension among police and black citizens punctuated by protests over the deaths of black suspects at the hands of white officers – and after a determination by the U.S. Department of Justice that Cleveland 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 reflected on the unrest. “In many American places people are angry with, mistrusting and fearful of the police,” he said. “Citizens think the men and women sworn to protect and serve have violated that oath or never meant it in the first place.”

But Judge O’Donnell said he would not offer up Brelo to an angry public if the evidence did not merit a conviction.

“I will not sacrifice him to a public frustrated by historical mistreatment at the hands of other officers,” Judge O’Donnell said.

Brelo – who fired a total of 49 shots, including 15 while standing on the hood of the suspects’ vehicle – faced as many as 22 years in prison had the judge convicted him of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting that happened after Timothy Russell’s beat-up Chevy Malibu backfired while speeding by police headquarters.

Russell’s sister, Michelle Russell, said she believed Brelo ultimately would face justice.

“He’s not going to dodge this just because he was acquitted,” she said. “God will have the final say.”

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.

After the verdict, deputy sheriffs stood in front of the courthouse carrying clear shields as protesters chanted “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” – a rallying cry linked to the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. One demonstrator bowed his head, hands folded, in front of the phalanx of deputies, praying in silence.

About 200 people walked in a mock funeral procession that already had been planned to mark six months since another deadly shooting that sparked anger in Cleveland: the killing of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old carrying a pellet gun who was shot by a white rookie officer.

Protesters carried a black, plywood coffin and softly sang “I’m going up yonder, we’re marching, we’re marching.”

Some carried signs saying “I Can’t Breathe” and “Freddie Gray Lynched,” references to a pair of deadly police encounters: the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York City and the death of a Baltimore man who suffered a spinal injury while in custody.

Saturday night, protesters temporarily blocked downtown street intersections and chanted anti-police slogans; they marched past sports fans getting out of a Cleveland Indians-Cincinnati Reds game, adding to the congestion.

Police tweeted around 9:30 p.m. that officers had made multiple arrests, including three around East Fourth Street, a downtown dining mecca, where police in riot gear were stationed. Three people were arrested after a restaurant patron was injured when an object was thrown through a window, police said.