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Public indignation and outcry for justice have rocked U.S. society once again after a white police officer in Ohio was acquitted in the killing of two unarmed blacks.
Michael Brelo, 31, was one of the 13 officers, all white, who altogether fired up to 137 bullets at Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, who were killed after a car chase on Nov. 29, 2012.
The defendant, the only officer charged in the incident, fired 49 times, including at least 15 shots after he climbed onto the hood of the victims' vehecle.
"No justice! No peace!" Protesters shouted as they took to the streets on Saturday after the not-guilty ruling, once again racking the nerves of a society already traumatized by increasing racial and social tensions.
Police in riot gear were deployed on the streets and patrolled on Saturday night. And up to 71 people were arrested over the night, according to local police.
The car chase in 2012 began after Russell's 1979 Chevy Malibu backfired while driving past local police headquarters. Mistaking the sounds for gunshots from the car, up to 62 police patrol cars took part in the car chase till the vehicle of the suspects rammed a police car in a school parking lot in East Cleveland.
Russell was struck 24 times and Malissa Williams 23 times by the heavy gunfire sprayed by the 13 police officers. No weapon was found in the car or along the route. But none of the other 12 officers were charged in the incident.
According to prosecutors, Brelo then exited his car and climbed onto the suspects' car hood and fired 15 shots down through the windshield into the victims when the suspects were no longer deemed as a threat, a main reason why only him was criminally charged.
REVIEW OF ACQUITTAL
Shortly after Brelo was found not guilty for the killing of the two unarmed black suspects, U.S. Justice Department announced that it would review the case.
"We will now review the testimony and evidence presented in the state trial. We will continue our assessment, review all available legal options and will collaboratively determine what, if any, additional steps are available and appropriate given the requirements and limitations of the applicable laws in the federal judicial system," the federal agency said in a statement.
In the previous verdict, Judge O'Donnell announced "the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Michael Brelo knowingly caused the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams."
The judge also ruled that Brelo was not guilty of two other lesser counts of felonious assault.
"The verdict is another chilling reminder of a broken relationship between the Cleveland Police Department and the community it serves," U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio, said in a statement.
"Today we have been told -- yet again -- our lives have no value," added Fudge, who is African-American.
FREQUENT POLICE KILLINGS OF UNARMED BLACKS
The shooting in Cleveland is only another case of police brutality in the United States as the country saw several high-profile cases of police violence against black suspects in the past year that led to violent protests and rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, in recent months.
Gray, 25, an African-American man, died on April 19 after suffering injuries believed to have been sustained during or after his arrest in the previous week by police.
Gray's death has provoked weeks-long protests in Baltimore, Maryland's largest city, demanding "justice" for African Americans.
Baltimore also witnessed a five-day curfew after protests turned violent last month. Dozens of buildings and vehicles were burned, some 20 police officers injured and more than 200 people arrested in the riots.
Last year, unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking weeks of public outcry and nationwide protests. However, no charges were filed against Wilson who resigned over the incident. Enditem
