CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) – A Cleveland police officer has been found not guilty in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire after a high-speed chase.
The judge’s verdict Saturday for Michael Brelo comes after a four-week bench trial on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams on Nov. 29, 2012.
Thirteen officers fired at the suspects’ car that night in a school parking lot. Yet only Brelo was charged criminally.
Prosecutors said he waited until the vehicle had stopped and the occupants were no longer a threat to step onto the hood and fire 15 rounds into the windshield.
Brelo, 31, could have faced 22 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
The Justice Department plans to “review all available legal options” after Brelo’s acquittal.
Officials say they will review the trial testimony and evidence to determine if “additional steps are available and appropriate” in the federal judicial system.
The department says the review is separate from its efforts to resolve a pattern of civil rights violations at the Cleveland police department.