CLEVELAND (AP) — In announcing charges against a
Cleveland patrolman in the deaths of a driver and his passenger, a
prosecutor cites a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting police
from firing on suspects after a public threat has ended.
Cuyahoga
(ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County prosecutor Tim McGinty says Officer Michael
Brelo (BREE’-loh) stood on the hood of the suspect’s car and fired at
least 15 shots after a police chase had ended.
In all, 137 shots were fired. Driver Timothy Russell and passenger Malissa Williams were killed. No gun
was found on them.
Brelo was charged Friday with manslaughter; five supervisors were charged with dereliction of duty.
The
killings have been decried as racially motivated — both victims were
black — and a federal investigation is underway. The police union has
defended the officers’ actions.
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