CLEVELAND — Mostly peaceful protests took place in Cleveland this week when officer Michael Brelo was found innocent of wrongdoing in the shooting deaths of unarmed black civilians Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.
In 2012, a third of the Cleveland police department joined a car chase after the sound of Russell's classic Chevy Malibu backfiring in front of a police station was mistaken for a gunshot.
Of all the responding officers, Brelo was singled out for prosecution because he fired his gun 49 times that night. He was standing on the hood of the victim's car, shooting through the windshield, when he fired the last 15 shots.
At the time, Cleveland police claimed Russell and Williams were shooting at them, but investigators discovered the bullets were actually the cops' bullets, as they had surrounded the car and fired 137 bullets in all directions.
This verdict and a string of other high-profile killings of unarmed black people by police in Cleveland compelled the Department of Justice to investigate the city's police force. The DOJ's report revealed widespread and routine use of violence by the Cleveland PD.
Now, the city has reached a settlement with the DOJ in which Cleveland commits to reform its policing strategies. This is the second such deal Cleveland has signed with the DOJ after similar abuses led the DOJ to investigate the city 11 years ago.
In the new settlement, among other changes, officers may no longer use their guns as bludgeons to beat people in the head. Police may not fire warning shots and must report each time they unholster their guns. Police also may not use their tasers to shoot suspects in the head, neck or genitals.
Many Cleveland residents are skeptical that the settlement will improve policing. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson was elected on a promise to fix the police in 2005 after the city signed the first deal with the DOJ.
Mayor Jackson is now the target of a recall campaign buoyed by the killings by police of Ta
In 2012, a third of the Cleveland police department joined a car chase after the sound of Russell's classic Chevy Malibu backfiring in front of a police station was mistaken for a gunshot.
Of all the responding officers, Brelo was singled out for prosecution because he fired his gun 49 times that night. He was standing on the hood of the victim's car, shooting through the windshield, when he fired the last 15 shots.
At the time, Cleveland police claimed Russell and Williams were shooting at them, but investigators discovered the bullets were actually the cops' bullets, as they had surrounded the car and fired 137 bullets in all directions.
This verdict and a string of other high-profile killings of unarmed black people by police in Cleveland compelled the Department of Justice to investigate the city's police force. The DOJ's report revealed widespread and routine use of violence by the Cleveland PD.
Now, the city has reached a settlement with the DOJ in which Cleveland commits to reform its policing strategies. This is the second such deal Cleveland has signed with the DOJ after similar abuses led the DOJ to investigate the city 11 years ago.
In the new settlement, among other changes, officers may no longer use their guns as bludgeons to beat people in the head. Police may not fire warning shots and must report each time they unholster their guns. Police also may not use their tasers to shoot suspects in the head, neck or genitals.
Many Cleveland residents are skeptical that the settlement will improve policing. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson was elected on a promise to fix the police in 2005 after the city signed the first deal with the DOJ.
Mayor Jackson is now the target of a recall campaign buoyed by the killings by police of Ta
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