CLEVELAND, Ohio – Members of about 40 Cleveland-area churches planned to protest the acquittal of a white patrolman charged in the deaths of two unarmed black motorists.
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Parishioners from the churches making up the Greater Cleveland Congregations planned to march through downtown Cleveland late Tuesday morning. The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports the Rev. Jawanza Colvin said the rally would be peaceful and police had been contacted in advance.
Dozens of people appeared in court Monday after being arrested following a judge’s ruling on Saturday that found Patrolman Michael Brelo not guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the November 2012 deaths of two unarmed motorists in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire after a high-speed chase.
A day of mostly peaceful protests turned more aggressive, resulting in the arrests of 71 people. Most of the 58 who were in court pleaded no contest to reduced charges and were sentenced to time served. A handful pleaded not guilty.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson told the Associated Press Monday that the verdict in Brelo’s case was an “unjust conclusion,” but urged that protests must remain nonviolent and disciplined.
Detective Jay Fulton is the primary detective assisted by Detective Anne Pennington.