By Charles F. Coleman Jr.
137 rounds. 49 shots from one gun. 2 unarmed black victims dead.
Not guilty.
Perhaps the most chilling element of the verdict in the case of Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo, charged with the voluntary manslaughter of two unarmed black suspects, was a mainstay phrase uttered by Judge John P. O’Donnell in his bench verdict: “reasonably perceived threat of bodily harm.”
And what was the perceived threat that officer Brelo felt when he fired through the windshield after 100 bullets had already pierced their car? The skin color of the two suspects.? Their blackness?
The facts of the case revealed that Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams’ car backfired before they led police on a 22-mile chase in November of 2012 that ultimately ended in the parking lot of a school where 13 officers, Brelo being one of them, opened fire on the car. Brelo exited his police vehicle, began firing, then climbed on the hood of the car with Russell and Williams inside and fired downward into the car’s windshield at least 15 times. In the end, there were over 137 shots fired by the police, 49 by Brelo, and not a single round was returned by either Russell or Williams. No guns were ever found in their car.
137 rounds. 49 shots from one gun. 2 unarmed black victims dead.
Incomprehensible.
Read More Cleveland Verdict: Where the Threat of Blackness Prevails – The Root.
