58 Cleveland protesters arraigned in court
Dozens of protesters, arrested after the acquittal of a white police officer charged in the deaths of two unarmed African Americans, have been arraigned in court in the US city of Cleveland.
Fifty-eight people appeared in Cleveland Municipal Court on Monday morning to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges, according to The Associated Press.
Most of the protesters pleaded no contest to reduced charges and were sentenced to time served. Some pleaded not guilty.
At least 71 people were arrested late on Saturday during protests in Cleveland, Ohio, which flared after a judge found Officer Michael Brelo, 31, not guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of 43-year-old Timothy Russell and 30-year-old Malissa Wiliiams in November 2012.
Cleveland police said demonstrations remained mostly peaceful after the judge announced the verdict on Saturday, but later in the day, some people became aggressive, blocking a major highway and disrupting business at a shopping center.
Thirteen officers fired a total of 137 times at the couple’s car after a high-speed chase on Nov. 29, 2012 , but only Brelo was charged because prosecutors said he fired 15 rounds even when the vehicle had stopped and the occupants were no longer a threat.
More than 60 police cars pursued the vehicle for 20 miles in a 25-minute chase spanning three cities.
Judge John P. O'Donnell said that there was no evidence Brelo was solely responsible for the couple's deaths, as their fatal gunshot wounds came from multiple directions.
Brelo was the last officer shooting at the car, driven by Russell. He stood on the vehicle’s hood, when it had stopped, and shot several rounds through the windshield.
The verdict is seen by many as unjust.
Representative Marcia Fudge, whose district includes part of Cleveland, said Sunday the verdict was a “stunning setback on the road to justice for Timothy Russell, Malissa Williams and the people of Cleveland.”
Only 54 officers have been charged for thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police across the United States over the past decade, according to a new analysis by The Washington Post and researchers at Bowling Green State University.
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