Cleveland officer found not guilty in fatal 2012 shooting

A Cleveland police officer who climbed onto the hood of a car and shot its two unarmed black occupants to death in 2012 was acquitted on Saturday of voluntary manslaughter.

Cuyahoga County Judge John P. O’Donnell also found Officer Michael Brelo, 31, not guilty of lesser charges of felonious assault in the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, according to media reports.

{mosads}The verdict comes amid a national debate over law enforcement’s treatment of minorities after a string of police-related deaths of unarmed black people in Cleveland and other cities such as Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo.

Prosecutors said Brelo was one of several officers who shot at Russell and Williams during a car chase in Cleveland. The chase began when officers pulled over the driver, Russell, for a turn signal violation.

Russell stopped, then drove away. That’s when his car backfired, which officers mistook for gunshots.

Thirteen officers allegedly fired 137 shots into the car after the chase. Defense attorneys for Brelo, who is white, said he feared for his life and believed Russell and Williams were armed. No guns were found in the car.

The Department of Justice announced Saturday it would review the testimony and evidence from the state trial of Brelo to determine “what, if any, additional steps are available.”

At least 30 protesters gathered outside the courthouse where Brelo was acquitted, chanting “hands up, don’t shoot,” according to the Associated Press.

Last December, the Department of Justice found a pattern of use of excessive force by Cleveland’s police department. The city and the federal government are negotiating a “consent decree” to implement changes within the department.

The Brelo verdict comes amid an ongoing investigation into the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was holding a toy gun when he was shot and killed by a white officer.