Demonstrators took to the streets in Cleveland this morning after a white judge acquitted a white police officer who killed the unarmed black occupants of a vehicle by standing on the hood and firing through the windshield. Police had chased the car after hearing a backfire noise they thought was a gunshot. Various police officers fired a total of 137 shots at the car, but Officer Michael Belo was charged for shooting the suspects after the car came to a stop after being trapped between two of the pursuing police vehicles.
“The killings of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams …were among several police incidents prompting outrage in Cleveland … and … one of the cases highlighted by a 2014 Department of Justice report that found that Cleveland police had a pattern of using excessive force,” CNN reported.
Generally speaking, in case after case, it has been impossible to convict killer cops in courts; however, it’s fairly common for victims’ families to sue for civil rights violations and receive six- and seven-figure civil settlements.
A tsunami of lethal police violence against unarmed citizens, including elderly people, women, and children — tinged with racism and coupled with the criminal justice system’s nearly complete punish police perpetrators — has triggered numerous demonstrations and a few riots in many cities.
Photo: Killer cop Michael Brelo walks free