COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor John Kasich and members of a task force that examined community-police relations say they’re concerned about the possibility of violent protests in Cleveland once the verdict is returned for an officer on trial in the fatal shooting of two unarmed citizens.
Kasich’s remarks came during a meeting yesterday to discuss the recommendations of the task force that was formed in December.
Attorneys are scheduled to give closing arguments Tuesday in the trial of the Cleveland patrolman charged in the deaths of two unarmed people in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire.
Michael Brelo faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison if convicted on two counts of voluntary manslaughter. Brelo, 31, was one of 13 officers who fired at a car carrying Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in November 2012.
Brelo was charged criminally because prosecutors said he fired his final 15 rounds after the car had stopped and Russell and Williams were no longer a threat.
Defense attorneys argue that the pair was still a threat when Brelo fired.
The judge who is deciding Brelo’s case has said he likely won’t deliver a verdict before May 15.