Cleveland policeman Brelo cleared over car shooting deaths
23 May 2015
From the section US & Canada
A judge in the US city of Cleveland has cleared a police officer over the deaths of two unarmed black people killed in a barrage of police fire.
Michael Brelo, 31, was acquitted of the voluntary manslaughter of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in November 2012.
Thirteen officers had fired shots but only Mr Brelo was charged.
The US has seen a series of police-related deaths, some of which have led to serious civil unrest.
In Cleveland itself, the police shooting last November of a 12-year-old black boy, Tamir Rice, as he waved a replica firearm, fuelled the national debate over police use of deadly force.
Community and city leaders in the city were braced for possible unrest over the latest ruling.
The case involving the deaths of Russell and Williams had sparked a department of justice inquiry that concluded Cleveland police had engaged in a pattern of excessive force and violation of civil rights.
137-shot barrage
Only Mr Brelo was charged because prosecutors said the pair in the car were no longer a threat when he climbed on to the bonnet of their car and fired 15 shots through the windscreen.
But the judge said that as other officers had fired in a 137-shot barrage, he could not rule beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Brelo was responsible for the deaths.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell also cleared Mr Brelo of the lesser count of felonious assault.
The judge said he would not “sacrifice” Mr Brelo if the evidence did not warrant conviction.
“Guilty or not guilty, the verdict should be no cause for a civilised society to celebrate or riot,” he said.
Mr Brelo had faced up to 22 years in jail if convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
The incident occurred when the car, a Chevy Malibu, backfired while speeding past Cleveland police HQ, and officers thought a gun had been discharged.
Some 62 police cars were then involved in a 22-mile chase at speeds up to 100 mph.
There have been a number of police shooting deaths in the US that have sparked race-related protests.
The two most serious were in Ferguson, Missouri, and in Baltimore.
In April, Freddie Gray died in hospital a week after Baltimore police had taken him into custody.
His death sparked weeks of protests and later riots and looting in the city.
In Ferguson, teenager Michael Brown was killed last August by a white police officer. His death sparked protests, sometimes violent, as police were criticised for using military grade riot gear.
Further unrest followed a grand jury’s decision not to charge the officer.
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