The trial of former Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo is in its second week and the jury will consider an extremely disturbing police shooting case where Brelo, 31, is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams following a Nov. 29, 2012 police chase and shooting.
We discussed this story earlier of the killing of the unarmed couple.
Brelo, 31, insists that he does not remember standing on the hood and firing the final 15 rounds into the windshield — 15 of a 137-shot barrage. However, a fellow officer said that a few days later Brelo discussed the incident with apparent clarity of memory.
Only Brelo was charged among the 13 officers that night who fired the barrage. In all, however, he fired 49 of the 137 rounds. His counsel insists that he remained in danger until he reached into the Malibu and removed the keys. The theory is that the car was the weapon.
The chase started after a failed traffic stop. Russell sped past Cleveland police headquarters, where his car backfired – making officers believe that there were shots fired. A huge police chase then ensured with over 60 police cars and 104 officers. Trapped in a school parking lot, Russell tried to flee and sideswiped a cruiser and then came to a stop. Another officer opened fire and a barrage ensued.
Brelo insists that he left his cruiser because he said he was afraid the Malibu would hit him. However, he then crossed in front of the car to climb on top of another cruiser and resumed firing. Then later claimed not to remember the incident of jumping on the hood even though his footprints were found on the hood. Another officer later said it was Brelo and asked why he said Brelo was talking about it.
That makes for a difficult and interesting trial to say the least.
Donald L. Anderson said …
It used to be that cops were there to protect you. Not so true now.
It also used to be that cops walked beats, sometimes in pairs and had some chance of “protecting” citizens on the beat…due to proximity. You got to know those whose “beat” was your locale. And they got to know you. I’d be in favor of returning to some form of “beat” cops, generally, even if now mobile in cars … which we do have in my town to some effect…e.g., you see the cars and the officers regularly and can develop confidence in them,and they in you…and they have at least a remote chance of protecting you….not just zipping you in to a bag post-facto.
Today, unfortunately, almost all police work is post-crime…not protection from anything, but response after the crime has gone down. We might want to re-think that organizational plan.
Once they had radios the “beat cops” could call what are called “precinct booster cars” (here where I live) of 3-4 officers to back them up. Precinct Booster Cars are still around, but now called by other officers in their own cars for back up…or respond directly to 911 calls (always after-the-fact of crime initiation). When I was in my private sector sojourn they saved my behind a couple of times when a robbery occurred. Beyond that, I’m the guy who had to respond to our alarms after hours, and that alarm system also notified the booster cars in our precinct. I was always very glad to see them when I arrived. I developed the habit of not drawing my own sidearm until I knew for certain they were not present…and that I was one my own. That said, I never fired a shot under those conditions, I merely made sure the robbers knew some one else was there and gave them one or more avenues of escape. A small risk for me that avoided tragedy….better they just leave to be pursued by others.
We also had, and have since re-instituted now, an additional crew of 4 officers in a large sedan called “The Big Four(s)” who cruised a wide area of several precincts waiting for calls by officers in distress…..or a 911 report of a armed encounter such as a robbery of a business or other armed civil, but criminal, disturbance.
We lost the beat cops and much of what was once called “felony prevention sections” in the last few decades. With that we built the “alien” barriers that exist today between police and Joe Sixpack, or Joe’s wife and kids….who do not know and are not known by the police responding. They can’t protect what they are not present to observe and know. They show up after-the-fact.
Long story short, we should re-consider how to enable our police to be protective, not just responsive….and literally re-integrate them in to communities of real people they know at least in passing. The response only mentality isn’t working so well these days from the reports posted here.
Nick,
So in your professional opinion there is no other valid assessment of JT’s motives except for obsession?
And yes, police shootings have generally been given short shrift in the news for quite a while now (I’m 57 so at least that long). Media tends to repeat the police department line as gospel and paints the offended (usually dead person) in as bad a light as possible. Still happens even with the current level of outrage.
Anyone want to hire professional cop burglars? Read on for background.
Police Farce: NJ Governor Asked to Shut Down Corrupt Police Department:
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been asked to shut down the NJ Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department that, not surprisingly, has jurisdiction up to the scandal-ridden George Washington Bridge…..
The jurisdiction of the Palisades Interstate Parkway “police” force (“PIP PD” covers about 11.2 miles of roadway from the George Washington Bridge, north through Bergen County New Jersey, to the New York border.
Portions of the Palisades Interstate Parkway that run through New York State are patrolled by the New York State Police, but apparently the highly-regarded
New Jersey State Police aren’t capable of handling the 11-mile section of roadway that runs through New Jersey. This section of road in New Jersey needs its own
“specialized” group of “law enforcement,” that requires a wasteful hierarchy of taxpayer-funded salaries and, please hold the chuckles, administrative support- and their very own “court.”
One person who signed a petition to disband the hapless “law enforcement” group described the PIP court as right out of the 1992 movie classic, My Cousin Vinny,
while others have described the police force as adequately trained for a Police Academy movie.
PIPPD boasts a “force” of 27: One Chief, Two Lieutenants, Five Sergeants, and 19 patrolmen.
A petition to eliminate the PIPPD was created last year, prompting tales of horror stories of improper police actions that would make Andy, Floyd and Barney Fife of Mayberry RFD proud.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, however, has long ignored the waste of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department, just like his predecessors.
Isaac, When I went back to college I had to take education classes. One we students dubbed PC 101. It was being sensitive to different cultures. Some of it was actually helpful. The prof, to her credit, brought in people from different cultures. Now, they were handpicked. But some, like the wheelchair guy she brought in was very informative. She brought in an Indian activist. To his credit, the guy told us, what polls show, that being the mainstream American Indian doesn’t buy into this contrived PC controversy. All that said, Chief Wahoo[Cleveland’s mascot] is offensive. Now, if you look @ Chief Wahoo from the 60’s/70’s he was much more offensive looking, a real nasty caricature. But, he is not the noble Chief Blackhawk, by any means.
Let me preemptively state, THIS IS JT’S BLOG! I am merely pointing out the volume of police posts and trying to understand, what I see as obsession. I AM NOT SAYING police shootings, beatings, abuse, are not a BIG problem. My profession is observing people’s behavior and trying to understand it.
More attention than it has gotten?????
Nick,
Perhaps JT thinks the issue needs more attention than it has gotten and he’s doing his part to heighten our awareness. Maybe it will spur us on to something more than just complaining about the frequency of reporting such incidents on his site.
Nick
You may have a point about JT and, in your eyes, his obsession with police overstepping their function. I read the NYTimes, Washington Times, Washington Post, and a few other papers on a daily basis. Almost a week does not go by without some event involving a cop or cops blowing somebody to hell for no supposedly justifiable reason. Now that cameras are everywhere these events are recorded for all to see, and judge.
These, now often occurring, events raise some questions that need to be addressed: If these events are not increasing but only their profile, then how long has this been going on and how many other innocent victims have their been and how many dangerous cops are there out there. If a cop or cops do this and get away with it does that make them more likely to do it again? Are these events increasing regardless of the cameras? and so on.
This is a critical intersection between society and the individual. Individuals have the right to be protected through their involvement in society. Society has a responsibility to perform this protection at a certain level of competence. The question that needs to be addressed is, ‘Is society performing at a proper level of competence and if not, what is to be done?’
For starters: better training, more convictions and punishment, a more graphic profile of police activities, and so on.
These are two fold, both issues that are part of JT’s field of individual rights and freedoms. My main complaint with JT would be that more often than not there are more egregious violations of that for which he offers examples. These examples may take him/us into a grittier area of politicians and oligarchs but in my mind, this where America must focus to repair the problems.
JT could easily replace a lot of the fluff that must be placed in this blog to amuse, a respite of sorts, with more important issues. The perversion of the legal system would be a great place to start. JT could provide the event. The readers comments could do the rest.
I strongly disagree with Spinelli.
It used to be that cops were there to protect you. Not so true now.
If I saw a group of cops gathered, I would probably cross the street to avoid any interaction. (I have no police record).
I have read that cops have killed 2500 people since 2011. Data from a citizen. Not collected by the police or the Gov. How many unreported woundings occurred?
It is helpful to learn of such police abuses.
I thank Professor Turley.
BitchinDog
The name Cleveland Indians is not troublesome to me. It connotes strength, ability, fear, etc all the necessary stuff. What I find troublesome is the goofy face logo patch. If I were an Indian, that would really pi** me off.
Reblogged this on This Got My Attention and commented:
Another shocking case!
Feyd, To think I would EVER be deferential to a govt. official shows you have not read my comments here the last several years.
I find this shooting outrageous. We all find certain things outrageous. For some, the outrage for something is idiosyncratic. For police shootings, to varying degrees, there is agreement, akin to the outrage we all have to child abuse. So, the question is, why the obsession w/ this by JT? I find that interesting. JT seems to be, by nature, a temperate man. This drumbeat of cop posts shows a missionary zeal bordering on obsession. Now, for some bloggers and commenters, obsession is part of their personality. To me, this cop obsession by JT seems incongruous. Analyzing people is what I do professionally. I’m just doing some of that here.
The other thing Cleveland does is name their ball team after The Indians. Not a single tribe mind you. This is stuff for Blazing Saddles II.
Two cases out of Cleveland on this blog. Bad police chief in one article and bad school principal and prosecutor in the other. There is something bad here which could probably be smelled out by an adequate dog. Something about Grover Cleveland stunk too. Some people said that he went in dumb and come out dumb too and that he was hustling round Lake Erie in his alligator shoes.
There is a problem in America with violence. American violence is unique among Western Nations. It certainly has something to do with the proliferation of guns. The natural reaction to potentially dangerous situations where chances are the suspects are armed to the teeth, is to shoot the bejesus out of them.
I wonder what Wayne La Peter has to say about this. Right now he is working on his alliteration to use against Hillary. “desperation of decay and despair” or something like that.
What should not go unnoticed is that for every documented event of police overreaction, there must be many, many, more that are not. The police have a right to protect themselves but society has a right to be ‘protected’ by better police than the likes of these that have killed so many. Police in the US have killed more than twice as many people in the last year than Great Britain’s police did in the entire twentieth century. Just Saying.
Nick, you’re so jaded you don’t find this shooting outrageous? Or are you just willing to forgive and forget because the manslaughter was performed by a government officer?
Nick – interesting thought 😉
These mob firings are the ones that are the most confusing to suss out. That he should be the only one charged is insane. Everyone one at the scene should be charged.
As for his memory of the incident. I have a ‘created’ memory of an incident that happened when I was young. I actually do not remember it, but I can tell the story as if I do remember it, because it was told to me so many times it became part of my ‘created’ memories. It is very possible the officer does not remember standing on the car but has a ‘created’ memory of standing on the car.
I suggest we change the name of this blog to Turley’s Cop Obsession.