National
Cleveland Officer Not Guilty in Killing Unarmed Pair
In this Dec. 17, 2014, file photo, police ffficer Michael Brelo adjusts his tie before court proceedings in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
Jason Hanna, Ralph Ellis, and Greg Botelho, CNN
CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) — Yes, Cleveland police Officer Michael Brelo stood on a car and shot 15 times at the vehicle’s unarmed black occupants seconds after he and fellow officers first riddled the car with bullets in 2012 — but the shooting was justified, a judge ruled Saturday.
Concluding just one of several police use-of-force cases that prompted recent outrage in Cleveland, a Cuyahoga County judge decided that Brelo was not guilty of voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams following a 22-mile car chase.
Emotions among people upset at the verdict ran high outside the Cleveland courtroom. One woman wept inconsolably on its steps.
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