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The shooting deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, two
Black American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
individuals, occurred in
East Cleveland, Ohio East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb encountered when travelling east from Cleveland. The population was 13,792 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. East Clevela ...
on November 29, 2012, at the conclusion of a 22-minute police chase which started in
downtown Cleveland Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
. Police claimed shots were fired at them as Russell and Williams drove by a squad car; however, this was their vehicle backfiring. Over 60 officers participated in a 23-mile police chase that ended in Russell and Williams' vehicles being surrounded. The victims had no weapon on them and police claimed they fired due to being fired at. Thirteen police officers fired at Russell and Williams 137 times while they were in their car at a parking lot of a middle school, killing both. In May 2014, one of the officers involved, Michael Brelo, was charged with two counts of
voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender acted during ''the heat of passion'', under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot ...
, and was acquitted by a Cuyahoga County judge of the charges on May 23, 2015. Five police supervisors were also charged with
dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...
, a misdemeanor. Their trial was set on July 27, 2015, went through various delays, with prosecutors dismissing all charges against three of the supervising officers in January 2019 while a fourth police supervisor was found not guilty in July 2019. On January 26, 2016, it was reported that six Cleveland police officers were fired due to their connection with the car chase. Five of the six officers were reinstated in October 2017 as required by the ruling of an arbitrator. The families of Russell and Williams filed a lawsuit against the city of Cleveland, and received a settlement of million (equivalent to $ million in ) in November 2014.


Backgrounds


Michael Brelo

Michael Brelo (born 1983–84) is an
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
USMC veteran. When he returned home, he became a correctional officer in
Bedford Heights, Ohio Bedford Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 11,020 at the 2020 census. History Bedford Heights was founded on February 20, 1951. It was originally part of Bedford Township an ...
. He then joined the
Cleveland Police Department The Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) is the governmental agency responsible for law enforcement in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Karrie Howard is the Director of Public Safety and Dornat "Wayne" Drummond is Chief of Police. In 2014, the Jus ...
in 2007.


Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams

Russell had met Williams at the Bishop Cosgrove Center, where they both received free meals. He was living at the Metropolitan Ministry Center prior to his death. Malissa Williams lived at the Norma Herr's Women Center on Payne Avenue in Cleveland.


Shooting

Russell was driving his 1979 light-blue
Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-drive ...
and Williams was seated in the passenger seat. A plainclothes police officer spotted Russell's car in an area known for drug deals. The officer checked the license plate which uncovered nothing notable. He then pulled the car over for a turn signal violation. Russell pulled over, but the car was not searched and the officer let them go. There is camera footage showing both cars pull off. Russell proceeded to speed by two officers, they believed that they heard shots being fired. As no firearm was found in the vehicle, the sound was determined to have been caused by the car backfiring. According to ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
'', the chase went up to speeds of 100 mph and a total of 62 police cars were involved at one point. Officers from
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, East Cleveland,
Bratenahl Bratenahl ( ) is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. One of Cleveland's oldest streetcar suburbs, it is bordered by the city on three sides and by the Lake Erie shoreline to the north. The populat ...
, the
Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...
Sheriff's Department, the
Ohio State Highway Patrol The Ohio State Highway Patrol is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and has the primary responsibility of traffic enforcement in the state of Ohio. Divisions Operationally, the Patrol is divided into units whose varying tasks com ...
, and the
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (officially the GCRTA, but historically and locally referred to as the RTA) is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is t ...
participated in the chase. After a 22-mile chase, Russell turned into Heritage Middle School, located in East Cleveland. Police officers later said they believed they saw a firearm in the car and that Russell was planning on running them over. One officer subsequently opened fire, followed by others, killing both occupants. In the end, thirteen officers fired a total of 137 bullets into the car, with Officer Michael Brelo firing 49 of those shots. Russell was struck 23 times, and Williams was struck 24 times. No weapons were recovered from the vehicle.


Legal proceedings

On May 30, 2014, only one officer of the thirteen who fired at the car, Michael Brelo, was indicted on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting. He was the only officer who continued to shoot even after the others stopped firing, and was said to have actually moved forward and jumped onto the hood of Russel's car, after which he reportedly shot approximately fifteen rounds. The two counts of voluntary manslaughter carried a maximum penalty of 22 years of prison if convicted. Five police supervisors were also indicted for
dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...
. According to Cuyahoga County prosecutors, Brelo stood on the hood of Russell and Williams' car and fired straight down at them through their windshield after the twelve other officers stopped firing. Prosecutors said that the actions were unreasonable and went past his duties as a police officer.Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo not guilty
Cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
, May 23, 2015.
On May 23, 2015, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell found Brelo not guilty of the charges. O'Donnell stated that while Brelo fired lethal shots at Russell and Williams, other officers did as well. O'Donnell also found Brelo not guilty of a lesser included charge of felonious assault, asserting that Brelo was legally justified in his use of deadly force. O'Donnell read his 35-page verdict in court, and said there was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the prosecution had to meet to get Brelo convicted. On June 3, 2015, it was announced that an arrest warrant was filed against Brelo for an alleged assault on his twin brother, Mark R. Brelo, on May 27, in
Bay Village, Ohio Bay Village is a city in western Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, the city is a western suburb of Cleveland and a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 16,163 at the 2020 ce ...
. The brothers turned themselves in on June 3, after Brelo's intoxicated brother had run to a neighbor's home to ask them to call 911 on his brother, Michael Brelo, by whom he was being chased and allegedly assaulted. They were released on their own recognizance. On January 26, 2016 the six officers (Wilfredo Diaz, Brian Sabolik, Erin O'Donnell, Michael Farley, Chris Ereg and Michael Brelo) were fired from their jobs at the Cleveland Police. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said that they would work to get the six reinstated to their positions. Five of the six officers were reinstated in October 2017 as required by the ruling of an arbitrator.


Federal investigation

The
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
announced on May 24, 2015, that they would open an investigation in the deaths of Russell and Williams, and would review the testimony and evidence presented at Brelo's trial. This investigation was closed in January 2017.


Trial on dereliction charge

Trial for the five police officers that Cuyahoga County charged with misdemeanor dereliction of duty was set for July 27, 2015. On July 2, 2015, the East Cleveland prosecutor filed its own dereliction of duty charges against the same five officers, and the County dismissed its charges on July 24, 2015. The officers objected to moving the trial to East Cleveland, and appealed the dismissal. In May 2016 an Ohio appeals court held that the dismissal was improper, but in April 2017 the Ohio Supreme Court reversed and left it up to the trial court judge, William Dawson, to decide where the trial would go forward. By October 2017, Judge Dawson had not yet put the case on the docket. In March 2018, two defense attorneys reported that prosecutors had offered to drop all charges against the officers if they paid fines of $5,000 each. They declined the offer. On March 22, 2018, prosecutors filed a formal motion asking the court to set a trial date. All five officers pleaded not guilty. In July 2018, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the more than 5½ years that had passed since the 2012 shooting violated their constitutional right to a
speedy trial In criminal law, the right to a speedy trial is a human right under which it is asserted that a government prosecutor may not delay the trial of a criminal suspect arbitrarily and indefinitely. Otherwise, the power to impose such delays would eff ...
. The court denied the motion on September 20; the defense attorneys announced their intent to appeal this ruling. In January 2019, the prosecutors dismissed all charges against three of the five supervising officers. In July 2019, the case concluded with the police supervisor in charge of the officers involved in the '137 shots' case not guilty. East Cleveland Municipal Court confirmed Sgt. Patricia Coleman not guilty after a 3-day long trial, ending a year-long battle. The Cleveland Division of Police continues to receive criticism from the public about the misdemeanor, claiming the actions were due to racism, as both fatalities were African-American. Only one member of the division, Officer Michael Brelo, was charged after the incident. Brelo fired 49 of the shots but was not found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Brelo was the only officer to lose his job following the shooting.


Protests

After Brelo was acquitted, violent protests and unrest ensued in downtown Cleveland, which led to the arrests of at least 71 people as of May 25. Among those arrested were charged with felonious assault, rioting, and failure to disperse. At least 15 people were apprehended by riot police officers. The deaths of Russell and Williams were two of several killings of unarmed African Americans protested by the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement.


Lawsuit

The families of Russell and Williams filed a lawsuit against the city of Cleveland, claiming they were liable for the
wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...
s of the two. In November 2014, Cleveland paid million (equivalent to $ million in ) to the two families, which was split evenly.


Documentary

In 2021
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
released the documentary ''137 Shots'' about the shooting.


See also

*
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
*
List of unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers in the United States This is a list of African Americans who were killed by police while unarmed. __TOC__ Before 2000 2000-2009 2010-2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 References {{Black Lives Matter Law e ...
*
Death of Jonathan Sanders On July 8, 2015, Jonathan Sanders, a 39-year-old Black man, died while being restrained by Stonewall, Mississippi police officer Kevin Herrington. In January 2016, a grand jury declined to indict the officer, and in March 2016, a grand jury det ...
*
Death of Jonny Gammage On October 12, 1995, African-American businessman Jonny Gammage was killed by police officers from several departments around Pittsburgh. Background Jon E. Gammage was on born on July 20, 1964, in Syracuse, New York, to Johnny L. and Narv ...
*
Death of Sandra Bland Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on , 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protest ...
*
Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery ...
*
Hands up, don't shoot "Hands up, don't shoot", sometimes shortened to "hands up", is a slogan and gesture that originated after the August 9, 2014, shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, United States and then adopted at protests against police brutality i ...
* Killing of Amadou Diallo *
Killing of Jayland Walker On June 27, 2022, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Akron, Ohio, police officers shot Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old American from Akron. Following a traffic stop and car chase, footage showed an officer saying that Walker’s car is slowing down ...
*
Shooting of Alton Sterling On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling while Sterling al ...
*
Shooting of Andy Lopez The fatal killing of Andy Lopez by Sonoma County sheriff's deputy Erick Gelhaus took place on October 22, 2013, in Santa Rosa, California. 13-year-old Lopez was walking through a vacant lot and carrying an airsoft gun that was designed to resemb ...
*
Shooting of Jeremy McDole Jeremy "Bam Bam" McDole was a 28-year-old African American paraplegic who was shot and killed by police in Wilmington, Delaware on September 23, 2015, at 3:00 pm. McDole was in a wheelchair at the time of the shooting. Police responded to a call ...
*
Shooting of Tamir Rice On November 22, 2014, Tamir E. Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, by Timothy Loehmann, a 26-year-old white police officer. Rice was carrying a replica toy gun; Loehmann shot him almost immediately upon arri ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Timothy 2012 deaths 2012 in Ohio Deaths by firearm in Ohio 2010s in Cleveland African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States Police brutality in the United States African-American-related controversies Criminal trials that ended in acquittal Protests in the United States Filmed killings by law enforcement Black Lives Matter November 2012 events in the United States Victims of police brutality East Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Division of Police