Verdict reached for officer over deaths in 137-shot barrage-gctid151425

[Ajamu]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ohio-patrolman-acquitted-in-2-deaths-amid-137-shot-barrage/ar-BBk9LPv

Ohio patrolman acquitted in 2 deaths amid 137-shot barrage

                 Associated Press            
                             MARK GILLISPIE, Associated Press          39 mins ago
 
          CLEVELAND (AP) — A patrolman charged in the shooting deaths of two  unarmed suspects during a 137-shot barrage of gunfire was acquitted  Saturday in a case that helped prompt the U.S. Department of Justice  determine the city police department had a history of using excessive  force and violating civil rights.

Michael Brelo, 31, faced as many  as 22 years in prison had the judge convicted him on two counts of  voluntary manslaughter. Before issuing his verdict, Cuyahoga County  Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell said he would not "sacrifice" Brelo  if the evidence did not merit a conviction.

Brelo put his head in  his hands as O'Donnell finished a nearly hour-long summation of his  conclusion, an involved explanation of the decision that involved  mannequins marked with the gunshot wounds that the two motorists  suffered.

Brelo is white, the two motorists were black. 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.

     Thirteen officers fired at a car with Timothy  Russell and Malissa Williams inside after a long, high-speed chase, but  only Brelo was charged criminally because prosecutors said he waited  until the car had stopped and the pair no longer a threat to fire 15  shots through its windshield while standing on the hood of the car.

Russell,  43, and Williams, 30, were each shot more than 20 times. While  prosecutors argued they were alive until Brelo's final salvo, medical  examiners for both sides testified that they could not determine the  order in which the fatal shots were fired.
Brelo has been on unpaid leave since he was indicted May 30, 2014.

The  chase and shooting began when Russell's car backfired as he sped past  Cleveland police headquarters. Police officers and bystanders thought  someone in the beat-up Chevy Malibu had fired a gun. More than 100  Cleveland police officers in 62 marked and unmarked cars got involved in  a pursuit that saw speeds reach 100 mph during the 22-mile-long chase.

Authorities  never learned why Russell didn't stop. He had a criminal record  including convictions for receiving stolen property and robbery and had  been involved in a previous police pursuit. Williams had convictions for  drug-related charges and attempted abduction. Both were described as  mentally ill, homeless and addicted to drugs. A crack pipe was found in  the car.

The shooting helped prompt a months-long investigation by  the U.S. Department of Justice, which concluded last December that the  Cleveland police department had engaged in a pattern and practice of  using excessive force and violating people's civil rights. The city and  DOJ are currently negotiating a reform-minded consent decree that a  federal judge will approve and independent monitors will oversee.

Ohio  Attorney General Mike DeWine at the conclusion of a probe by the state  Bureau of Criminal Investigation said there had been a systemic failure  within the command and control structure of the Cleveland police  department during the chase. BCI turned over its findings to the  Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office, which presented evidence to a grand  jury that led to Brelo's indictment.

The grand jury also charged  five police supervisors with misdemeanor dereliction of duty for failing  to control the chase. All five have pleaded not guilty. No trial date  has been set for the supervisors.