A Cleveland officer involved in the 2012 shooting deaths of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell was found not guilty Saturday morning after a judge determined the officer's shots were not fatal.
According to TIME, the case came to an end Saturday when 31-year-old Michael Brelo was acquitted of two counts of voluntary manslaughter. As protesters were heard outside chanting, "Hands up! Don't Shoot!" Judge John O'Donnell said to the courtroom, he wouldn't make Brelo a "sacrifice" since the evidence wasn't enough to bring about a conviction.
In November 2012, Brelo along with Officer Vasile Nan were involved in a car chase with Williams and Russell after Nan thought he heard a gunshot in their vehicle. In a chase including 60 officers, a total of 137 shots were fired at Russell's 1979 Chevrolet Malibu. Brelo fired 49 shots from his Glock 17 handgun. Russell suffered 23 gunshot wounds and his passenger, Williams, was shot 24 times.
Prosecutors claimed that Williams was a kidnapping victim and was unable to get out to the car when the officer approached them. Witnesses also stated that Russell had a soda can in his hand that officers mistook for a weapon. At the time of the alleged suspects deaths, Russell had alcohol and cocaine in his system while Williams tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
Throughout the case, Brelo's shots at Russell were determined not to be the fatal shots that took his life. While experts testified that one of Brelo's shots at Russell's chest was fatal, O'Donnell says the shot could have came from another officer.
Timony's sister, Michelle, spoke out against the result, assuring that justice will be served for her brother.
"He's not going to dodge this just because he was acquitted," she said. "God will have the final say."
Source: TIME | Photo Credit: Screenshot
