Associated Press
Saturday, May 23, 2015
A Cleveland officer has been found not guilty in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire after a high-speed chase.
The judge's verdict Saturday for 31-year-old Michael Brelo (BREE'-loh) comes after a four-week bench trial on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams on Nov. 29, 2012.
Thirteen officers fired at the suspects' car that night in a school parking lot. Yet only Brelo was charged criminally.
Prosecutors said he waited until the vehicle had stopped and the occupants were no longer a threat to step onto the hood and fire 15 rounds into the windshield.
Brelo could have faced 22 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
At least 30 protesters have gathered at the Cleveland courthouse. About an equal number of sheriff's deputies bearing clear shields stood in front of the courthouse shortly after the verdict as the demonstrators chanted "hands up, don't shoot."
One man standing in front of the phalanx of deputies bowed his head with hands folded, praying in silence.
The deputies have moved inside the entrance of the justice center, and the plaza in front of the building has been cordoned off.
