Free Republic

CLEVELAND — Cleveland police made 71 arrests Saturday during protests against the Michael Brelo verdict, Police Chief Calvin Williams said Sunday. Authorities attempted to give demonstrators the space to exercise their First Amendment rights, but they had no choice but to make arrests when the protests became violent or when protesters refused to disperse, he said. Police arrested demonstrators in downtown Cleveland on Saturday night following the acquittal of a police officer who stood trial in the 2012 shooting deaths of two unarmed people. CNN video showed police in riot gear moving down East Fourth Street, a strip of restaurants,...

9:10 a.m. Officials say some protesters angry over the acquittal of a police officer charged in the deaths of two unarmed suspects became violent and turned on bystanders, including some who pepper-sprayed patrons sitting at outdoor cafes downtown. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams says 71 people were arrested Saturday night after a day of mostly peaceful protests turned more aggressive. Williams said Sunday at a news conference with Mayor Frank Jackson that another protester threw a restaurant sign at a patron, striking him in the head. He says bystanders were also accosted in at least one other instance....

A protester is taken into custody by a Cleveland police officer in a clash during demonstrations that followed the acquittal of police officer Michael Brelo. Brelo was charged with manslaughter in the November 2012 shooting deaths of two unarmed people.CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police officers took at least three people into custody during protests following the Michael Brelo verdict. Northeast Ohio Media Group reporters and photographers witnessed at least three people taken into custody following a clash with police about 6:20 p.m. outside Quicken Loans Arena. Police officers showed pepper spray cans to others who rushed towards the fight. Most...

A Cleveland cop cleared Saturday on state charges in the deaths of two unarmed people in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire could face federal charges. The Justice Department said after the acquittal of Officer Michael Brelo’s on voluntary manslaughter charges that it would "review all available legal options." "We will now review the testimony and evidence presented in the state trial" to determine if "additional steps are available and appropriate," the department said. Vanita Gupta, head of the department's civil rights division said the review is separate from its efforts to resolve a pattern of civil rights violations at...

Yes, Cleveland police Officer Michael Brelo stood on a car and shot 15 times at the vehicle's unarmed black occupants seconds after he and fellow officers first riddled the car with bullets in 2012 -- but the shooting was justified, a judge ruled Saturday. Concluding just one of several police use-of-force cases that prompted recent outrage in Cleveland, a Cuyahoga County judge decided that Brelo was not guilty of voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams following a 22-mile car chase.

Officer Michael Brelo is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter for the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30. Closing arguments in the month-long trial were presented on May 5 and Judge O’Donnell was left to deliberate. If convicted, Brelo, 31, faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison. On Nov. 29, 2012, Cleveland Police Officer Vasile Nan thought he heard a gunshot while he was outside of his cruiser on St. Clair Avenue near the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, and pursued a blue car. The resulting police chase lasted 22 minutes, and involved more than...