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.
Feyd, I like busting balls and I also like getting my chain yanked. Thanks for being normal.
willy, Good comment. No, obsession is not the only explanation for the drumbeat of cop posts. We do know JT is obsessed w/ the Cubs and Bears so we know he has that in him. And, I agree, the press has often times given the party line over the years. But, I think we can agree, that pendulum has swung drastically in the other direction of late.
I gave Bill a heads up he would probably be contacted by an angry woman. He appreciated the warning and told me he could handle it. LOL!!!
Rcocean: I think “hundreds of cops killed or injured each year” is overstating, unless you are counting trivial self-inflicted injuries like tripping and spraining an ankle. The real question is, how many cops are killed or seriously injured by civilians? I haven’t seen reliable numbers for injuries, but I have seen that, in 2013, 27 cops were shot to death on duty in the whole US, whereas cops shot and killed well over one thousand civilians (see http://www.killedbypolice.net).
One of the reasons why this is getting increasing media coverage is because the ubiquity of video recording devices means that more and more often we are seeing clear proof that cops routinely lie about use of force incidents.
It appears to me that people come on there and make comment after comment for a race to the top of I don’t know what. It doesn’t even make sense anymore what the thread is about in the first place.
Rich men who want to play cop, 73 years old no less. That police department needs to investigated for incompetence.
Step right up.
Here’s your hat.
Here’s your ears.
Here’s your gun.
Here’s your taser.
Now don’t get them confused Mouseketeer.
It is just about that spot on.
Thank heavens that there are still some good people out there in all walks of life as by the looks of the links out there that advertise there is no God that the world is being taken over by monsters.
Thanks, Ingannie.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/deputy-who-killed-man-after-mistaking-gun-for-taser-is-an-insurance-exec-who-pays-to-play-cop/
Here’s another one for Professor Turley.
“The reserve Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot and killed a man last week when he thought he had pulled his Taser, is part of a group of wealthy donors who make large contributions to the department for the privilege of playing police officer.
According to Tulsa World, Robert Bates, 73, who made the fatal mistake that cost a man his life, is a local insurance company executive who has donated multiple vehicles, weapons, and stun guns to the Sheriff’s Office since becoming a reserve deputy in 2008.”
Overdue Police Reforms:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/opinion/sunday/the-strip-brian-mcfadden-comics.html
Rcocean, With the proliferation of cameras, general law abiding members of society are coming face to face with the fact that the explanations given by officers for using force are not always truthful. Information related to such a profound shift in perception is bound to receive a significant amount of coverage.
rcocean
One person’s manipulation may just be the profile of what has been happening all along but is now coming to light with the advent of the ‘everywhere’ camera.
If you add up all the ingredients that go into a profile you will surely find some bias in newspapers, bias against the right in the left wing papers and bias against the left in the right wing papers. That goes without saying and must be considered to be an enhancement if anything at all.
The two most obvious elements that contribute to this phenomenon, however recent or not, are inadequate training and inappropriate response by the community. When a cruiser races up to a youth who has, what might be, a gun, after the neighbor who phoned in the alert stated that it might be a toy, and within two seconds of arriving opens the door and blasts a teen to death, then that officer, the dispatch, and the entire concept is woefully wanting. The officer is not police material. The dispatch failed to warn the officer. The other officer driving as well as the shooter should have held back and surveilled the situation. They came in guns a blazing and killed an innocent youth. And so on.
Before the advent of body cameras or cell phone cameras, how many times has this happened and not only the cop has gotten away with it but the cop and other cops have been reinforced in their behavior.
In most Western nations, those with which America counts as peers, police are much, much, much more accountable. There are fewer guns out there, fewer murders, less violence, and instead of arming oneself to the teeth and ‘taking care of business’ as being tied into the sacred beginnings of the nation, figuring out what is wrong and responding responsibly is the goal.
Concerning this issue of violence and personal arsenals, America has got it wrong. It may be necessary. It may be too late. But it is certainly nothing to be proud of.
Behavioral Psychologist?
Social Anthropologist?
Poker Player?
Bartender?
Yeah, I was just yankin’ your chain on the ‘government official’ part. It is also true I have not read all your comments.
Perhaps JT thinks this issue has been under reported for so many years, that he as a civil libertarian and a public persona has a responsibility to bring more attention to it. Good for him, it’s a noble cause.
Cops that are so cavalier with the lives of American citizens have no business being in law enforcement.
The Nasty Blowback from America’s Wars
April 12, 2015
Exclusive: There are historical warnings to countries that inflict violence abroad, that the imperial impulse will blow back on the domestic society with suppression of public debate and repression of common citizens, that the war will come home — as is happening in the United States, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.
By Ray McGovern
Brutality thrives in American police treatment of common citizens reflecting an ethos of violence that has flourished over the past dozen years with almost no one in authority held accountable. Much of this behavior can be traced back to U.S. wars of choice – and it is not as though we were not warned of the inevitable blowback.
…
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/04/12/the-nasty-blowback-from-americas-wars/
Yes, the number of posts about police shooting civilians vs. those about crooks shooting the police is rather impressive. Providing a drumbeat of police shootings can give people the wrong idea, we have hundreds of thousands of police in the USA, making at least a million arrests every year. Hundreds of Cops are killed or injured every year. So, are there going to be questionable uses of Force by some policeman? Of course, they aren’t perfect. The question is why is the New York times and MSM suddenly all fascinated by white cops shooting a black men? Why is this front page news as opposed to white cops shooting white crooks or black/Hispanic cops shooting anyone?
I smell manipulation.
Amusing how Spinelli thinks he is suited to point out “obsession” in anyone else. As IF he knows them personally, he doesn’t. Tell us about your “relationship” with Bill Lueders, Spinelli. LOL!