By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/cleveland-officer-found-guilty-shooting-deaths-unarmed-suspects Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Cleveland officer found not guilty in shooting deaths of unarmed suspects Nation May 23, 2015 12:16 PM EDT Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter on Saturday in the 2012 shooting deaths of an unarmed man and woman. The verdict read by Judge John P. O’Donnell came after a four-week bench trial on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, the Associated Press reported. Judge O’Donnell said Officer Brelo acted reasonably in shooting the two suspects while standing on the hood of their car and firing through the windshield after it was surrounded, Reuters reported. In 2012, after receiving reports of gunfire coming from the couple’s car, a high-speed, multi-city chase that originated in downtown Cleveland ensued. Thirteen police officers surrounded the vehicle in the end, firing 137 rounds. Russell was struck 24 times and Williams 23. No weapon was found along the route or in the car. During the trial a forensic mechanic testified that the couple’s 1979 Chevrolet Malibu was prone to backfiring. In July, five police supervisors indicted on misdemeanor dereliction of duty charges will go on trial. A total of 64 officers have been disciplined in the incident, according to Reuters. Protests in Cleveland began shortly after the acquittal announcement. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter on Saturday in the 2012 shooting deaths of an unarmed man and woman. The verdict read by Judge John P. O’Donnell came after a four-week bench trial on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, the Associated Press reported. Judge O’Donnell said Officer Brelo acted reasonably in shooting the two suspects while standing on the hood of their car and firing through the windshield after it was surrounded, Reuters reported. In 2012, after receiving reports of gunfire coming from the couple’s car, a high-speed, multi-city chase that originated in downtown Cleveland ensued. Thirteen police officers surrounded the vehicle in the end, firing 137 rounds. Russell was struck 24 times and Williams 23. No weapon was found along the route or in the car. During the trial a forensic mechanic testified that the couple’s 1979 Chevrolet Malibu was prone to backfiring. In July, five police supervisors indicted on misdemeanor dereliction of duty charges will go on trial. A total of 64 officers have been disciplined in the incident, according to Reuters. Protests in Cleveland began shortly after the acquittal announcement. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now