National

After Officer’s Acquittal, 2 More Cases Loom for Cleveland

Published

11 years ago

May 25, 2015

Protestors walk in a mock funeral procession in a park after the verdict of officer Michael Brelo, on Saturday, May 23, 2015, in Cleveland. Brelo, a police officer charged in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, was acquitted, Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins)

Mark Gillespie, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland emerged unscathed and intact after a day of protests following the acquittal of a white patrolman who had been on trial in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black suspects killed in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire.

Officers arrested 71 people the night after the verdict, though there was nothing close to the violence other cities have experienced over the treatment of black suspects.

But Cleveland is not yet done dealing with deadly police encounters.

Two other high-profile police-involved deaths still hang over the city: a boy holding a pellet gun fatally shot by a rookie patrolman and a mentally ill woman in distress who died after officers took her to the ground and handcuffed her.

The deaths of 12-year-old Tamir Rice and 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson occurred just eight days apart last November. An investigation by the Cuyahoga County sheriff’s department into Tamir’s death is nearly finished and ready to be given to county prosecutors to decide whether to pursue criminal charges against the patrolman.

The status of the investigation into Tanisha Anderson’s death is unclear. A medical examiner said she died of positional asphyxiation, which means she couldn’t breathe, and ruled her death a homicide. City and police officials did not respond to messages Sunday seeking an update on the case.

Tamir and Anderson, like the two motorists whose deaths were at the center of Saturday’s verdict, were black. The rookie officer who fatally shot Tamir is white. In the Anderson case, one officer is white and the other is black, although a family lawsuit does not make an issue of race.

The acquittal of Patrolman Michael Brelo in the November 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams prompted a spontaneous protest outside the courthouse that later merged with a planned protest over Tamir’s death at the recreation center where he was shot.

Tamir’s grandfather expressed his outrage to a crowd of several hundred people.

“I’m mad as hell,” Eugene Rice said. “What I want to do I better not say.”

Walter Madison, an attorney for Tamir’s family, said he’d been cautiously optimistic about the outcome in the Brelo case. He said he respected the judge’s legal analysis in acquitting patrolman Brelo, but wondered if the prosecutor’s office would have better served justice by pursuing some other charge, such as conspiracy.

Madison wants Tamir’s case to be reviewed by an independent prosecutor instead of the county prosecutor.

“It would be the best practice to avoid the appearance of impropriety at this particular junction,” Madison said.

A spokesman for the county prosecutor’s office had no comment Sunday on Madison’s request for an independent review.

The protests that weaved through downtown Cleveland were boisterous but peaceful throughout the day Saturday. It was only later that trouble began with fights, bystanders being pepper sprayed by protesters and confrontations involving police, some of whom wore riot gear. The largest number of arrests occurred in the popular Warehouse District, where a large group of protesters gathered in an alley and refused to disperse.

On Sunday, Mayor Frank Jackson thanked the vast majority of protesters who remained peaceful and respectful as they voiced their frustration with the verdict.

Brelo, 31, still faces administrative charges while remaining suspended without pay after being found not guilty of two counts of voluntary manslaughter. Brelo and 12 other officers fired 137 shots at a car with Russell and Williams inside at the end of a 22-mile chase.

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 to his indictment and a four-week trial. After his acquittal, the U.S. Department of Justice — which had previously determined that Cleveland police had a history of using excessive force and violating civil rights — said it would look into the matter.

And the prosecutions related to the deaths of Russell and Williams are not over, either. Five police supervisors have been charged with misdemeanor dereliction of duty for failing to control the chase. All five have pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Welsh-Huggins contributed to this report.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

13 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

16 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.