CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) – A judge could rule at a hearing Friday whether grand jury testimony used to indict a Cleveland police officer in the deaths of two unarmed suspects was tainted and whether the case should proceed to trial.
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Michael Brelo was indicted last year on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were killed in a hail of gunfire after a high-speed chase. Brelo, 31, is accused of firing the final 15 rounds of a 137-shot barrage into the car Russell and Williams were in.
Brelo’s attorneys argue the case should be dismissed because the indictment was based on protected statements that can’t be used in criminal proceedings.
Prosecutors counter they were careful not to use protected statements in their grand jury presentation.