Michael Brelo, a 31-year-old Cleveland police officer, is on trial for two counts of voluntary manslaughter over the shooting deaths of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell in 2012.
Their deaths occurred after a high-speed car chase that involved a reported 60 police cars with 13 officers firing a total of 137 shots at the pair. Brelo, however, is the only officer charged criminally in the incident.
Brelo’s verdict is set to be read on Monday, May 18th and the city of Cleveland is preparing for trouble in case he’s acquitted:
Cleveland prepares for police officer's verdict with eye on Baltimore protestshttp://t.co/MUJxgbw40j
— Texas Rattler 1776 (@TEXASRATTLER76) May 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/Pelc/status/599256859338534912
Officials preparing for possible riots in Cleveland when a verdict is reached in case of officer Michael Brelo who killed two unarmed men.
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) May 15, 2015
@deray @ShaunKing Got this in our apt building today. Guess we know how the Brelo verdict is going to go: pic.twitter.com/gb5i8EbgSB
— Ryan Hamm (@RyanECHamm) May 16, 2015
#cleveland police driving around with riot shields sticking out of their trunk. Anticipating Michael Brelo decision.
— Liz Tracey ??️? (@liztracey) May 14, 2015
What is One Cleveland? An effort to keep peace following Michael Brelo trial verdict https://t.co/C6THT62bUM via @wews
— Sara Ziemnik (@sziemnik2198) May 15, 2015
Cleveland-area native and FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano weighed in on the potential for riots as well. From WKYC:
“The citizens of this great city and other cities have the right to protest. They have a right to vent. They have a right to speak their opinion but they don’t have a right to destroy the city and businesses. A lot of the changes in this country have come from good civil protests,” said Giuliano
64 officers were disciplined over the incident, resulting in the city adopting a new police chase policy.
And a cousin of one of the victims was recently acquitted of a threat against Brelo:
Malissa Williams' cousin acquitted of making threat against Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo #BreloTrial
http://t.co/7DK6cRS0OI— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) May 15, 2015
Tensions, to say the least, will be high come Monday. Stay safe, Cleveland.
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