Ohio Cop Acquitted After Firing 49 Shots At Unarmed Black Couple

Written By Cyrus Langhorne

1.5k Views 5 Comments

An Ohio police officer has just avoided spending more than 20 years behind bars for killing an unarmed African American couple in 2012 thanks to a judge who ruled not guilty in his manslaughter case.

According to reports, Officer Michael Brelo had his verdict read to him Saturday (May 23).

A white Cleveland police officer who stood on the hood of a car and shot the vehicle’s two unarmed black occupants in Cleveland in 2012 was found not guilty Saturday morning of voluntary manslaughter. Cuyahoga County Judge John P. O’Donnell, who reached the verdicts after a several-week bench trial, also ruled that Officer Michael Brelo was not guilty of two lesser-included counts of felonious assault. (CNN)

The now-infamous shooting took place in late November 2012.

On Nov. 29, 2012, Cleveland Police Officer Vasile Nan thought he heard a gunshot while he was outside of his cruiser on St. Clair Avenue near the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, and pursued a blue car. The resulting police chase lasted 22 minutes, and involved more than 60 police cars and more than a hundred officers. It stretched through downtown Cleveland, into the Tremont neighborhood and at high speeds on Interstate 90 before ending at Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland. (Fox 8)

Despite being a part of more than 100 cops involved in the chase, Brelo stood out for firing the deadly shots.

Prosecutors argued throughout Brelo’s month-long trial that when other officers stopped firing, Brelo jumped onto the Malibu’s hood and shot straight down at Russell and Williams. Those actions, they argued, were unreasonable and went well past his duties as a police officer. But defense attorneys said Brelo had reason to fear for his life, and was justified in his use of deadly force because he and other officers believed that Russell and Williams had a gun and had fired shots. (Cleveland)

Officer Brelo could have spent the next 20-plus years of his life if found guilty.

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. (Yahoo!)

5 Comments

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

SOHH.com Writer. You're likely to find me covering hip-hop news and music releases. Netflix is still my go-to before Disney Plus.

5 Comments

  1. This story is amazing and mind blowing and is expected in this white man’s world. I don’t know all the details with this case but damn this is horrible. This happens constantly and shit won’t change. Lord knows the guilty will be punished. Hate is a bad horrible word but I hate the cops. I’ll kill a cop if I had to and would with dignity because I died for my beliefs. Fuck the law.

  2. your title is fucked and your “facts” are also fucked.guess anybody that can put a sentence together is a writer no huh?

    • Dude I was thinking the same shit. He left out the part where the black folk took em on a high speed chase at speeds up to 100 mph. PLUS the fact that the car had been shot up to 100 times right before the cop pumped another 15 shots or so in to the car. Would be hard to believe that THOSE 15 shots did the “job” and not the 100 previous shots lol smh.

  3. HERE’S A BRILLIANT IDEA… QUIT RUNNING FROM POLICE YOU DUMB ASSES. I MEAN DUHHHHHH!!!!

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