No Justice. No Trust. Cleveland Police Officer Brelo Acquitted
Hat tip to peni4yothot.
It is Saturday. Who would have thought that a judge would announce a verdict on a weekend?
In April, we reported on the events that led to charges of voluntary manslaughter for Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo. Yahtzeebutterfly has been keeping it updated with trial videos and information.
Michael Brelo
A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo. Brelo’s trial began on April 6, 2015. He choose a bench trial. Today, Saturday, May 23, 2015, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell acquitted Brelo of all charges.
Brelo will remain on unpaid suspension.
Rather than write more information, I’ve embedded videos below of the Judge announcing the verdict, Cleveland Mayor Jackson and Police Chief Williams, protesters, and a released announcement by the Department of Justice. The verdict has been added to “Documents” that you can find on the right-side border of the blog.
Memorial Day Weekend is right — we remember the victims and seeing results like this over, and over, and over, and …..
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Police Chief Calvin Williams speak after the verdict
Protesters are outside the Justice Center
The Department of Justice was already investigating the use of excessive force in Cleveland
Posted on 05/23/2015, in Cases, Cops Gone Wild, Mallissa Williams, Timothy Russell and tagged acquitted, Calvin Williams, Cleveland, Frank Jackson, Michael Brelo, verdict. Bookmark the permalink. 57 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
I am lost for words. 💔
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Reblogged this on Blissfully Single.
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Thanks for the reblog, Jan. I know the feeling, which is why I couldn’t write more. Unbelievable.
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I think I’m in shock. The Judge has to know what he’s done. This is BS.
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Xena, thanks for the mentioning. (blushingly blinking my eyelashes 🙂
Remember Sean Bell when he was shot at numerous times and another young man in NY. ?
This is unfathomable. At what round did they discover they were unarmed? Smh
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Peni, you are very welcomed. Thanks for the head’s up. I had not been online nor had on the television or radio to hear the news. The first thing I do when coming online is check for comments here.
Yes, I remember Sean Bell. They say that cops are trained to continue shooting until the “threat has been removed.” I suppose that means until their brains are running out or they stop breathing.
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Meanwhile, this is too close to reality. I remember when my late husband was having a stroke and I called 911 for medical emergency. Two cops arrived and assumed that my husband was drunk. Although he couldn’t stand and his speech was slurred, it was also apparent that his face was twisting.
The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and I met the paramedic at the front door and told her that my husband was having a stroke. She immediately took his blood pressure, and then called into the hospital that she was bringing in a patient. I cannot imagine what would have happened had my husband been away from home, alone, when it happened.
So, for having a stroke and not being able to obey the police, this man gets tazed and pepper sprayed.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/watch-virginia-cop-uses-pepper-spray-taser-on-unresisting-black-man-having-stroke/#.VWD88DQasn0.twitter
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Heartbreaking and scary!
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Yahtzee, terrorizing. An experience like that can traumatize you for life.
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Disgusting, ” it’s gonna be ok now, we’re done”
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Yeah, Mindyme. It’s like demanding a woman in labor to get out of the car, pepper spray and taze her, and when the baby is born as they’re dragging her out of the car, say it’s alright and then justify their abuse by saying she didn’t obey their commands, as if she could.
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Exactly. They attacked this man, not even trying to find out first what was happening. They escalated a situation in a way that could have hastened his demise.
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You do know why we had to spray you? Utter disgust, why pepper spray him; period?
Sorry to hear of your late husband, there is a similar account of a young man who was deaf, can’t remember the details but I think he was perceived as noncompliant too.
We as citizens I pray can make a change. “No justice, no trust!”
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Peni,
One of the worst situations you can ever be in is needing help, and those who show up have an attitude that they must find a reason to arrest or walk away and do nothing. I suppose what kept me calm for the moment was knowing that the ambulance was coming. His right side was completely paralyzed. When we got to the hospital, it was within the time frame to administer TPA, and almost immediately he gained movement on his right-side other than his foot. That took a few months of physical therapy.
Just imagine someone having a stroke being taken to jail first, and the minutes ticking away so that TPA cannot be administered. They might have permanent paralysis or a year or more of rehab.
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How frightening.
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Thanks for the reblog, dear friend.
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My mind is blank and my heart is stunned with sorrow and disbelief.
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And the psycho cop was on the hood of the car shooting but feared for his life, (throwing up both my hands)
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I already had these on my Facebook. It is unfrickenbelievable.
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“Michael Brelo trial: Prosecution’s closing arguments”
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in the 6.5 minutes of this video, I counted twice that the prosecutor says the victims’ names. once in the beginning when he misspoke their names & once in the end. and he referred to them as “the victims” twice.
he uses Officer Brelo’s name 5 or 6 times.
the only time it seems he finally humanizes them is when he tells the judge to put himself in the mind of the victims for a minute and imagine the fear “the victims” must of been in when staring at the “police officer” shooting them point blank from standing on the hood.
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I swear I hope my car doesn’t backfire…
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Right??
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I’m a bit dark myself…
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❤
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http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/05/michael_brelo_trial_closing_ar.html
Barnnhill for the prosecution pointed out that
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Why am I thinking of the story of Chicken Little and the acorn??
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Who’s to say their car backfired? For all we know that’s their story to justify this massacre
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Clavin Williams, the chief of police, seemed genuinely regretful of the verdict.
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Yes, and also the mayor.
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The Oakland Mayor decided if the acquittal wasn’t enough, let’s irritate the citizens already devastated, hurt, feeling powerless even more& tell these “free Americans” they can’t protest state violence against innocent citizens after dark. And forget about cops’ regular uniforms, those aren’t intimidating enough! Let’s play Hollywood movie dress up & turn riot cops into real life RoboCops, that’ll really to show the citizens who’s boss! Cuz nothing brings that peaceful easy feeling to a community like 100s of stormtroopers w/gas, pepper spray &guns pointing at you.
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Shannon, in other words, the Oakland mayor wants a smaller amount of protesters, or to financially harm working protesters who would have to take off work so they can be “free Americans” during the daytime. There’s a method behind that madness. Then to top it off, let the world see America’s RoboCops. Well, there goes the foreign students — a partial solution to immigration.
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Shannon, did you hear what Brelo’s POS lawyer said about the victims?
It’s as if he had to rub salt into the wounds.
He got his murdering POS client off and should have left it at that.
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Nope, becuz I didn’t follow the case I truly thought he’d be convicted.. I’m gonna watch the videos tho now. But I keep reading that he cld still be convicted on other lesser charges. Did you hear about that?
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shannoninmiami: But I keep reading that he cld still be convicted on other lesser charges.
No I haven’t heard that but I am sure neither of the officers involved in the Tamir Rice shooting will be charged.
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I was listening to the last half and can’t understand what was going through the judge’s mind. You had other officers who refused to testify, invoking their 5th…..if they feel they didn’t do anything wrong then why plead the 5th?
Then, even though, the officer caused at least one fatal wound, he wouldn’t find him guilty because it couldn’t be proven that his shot was the one that actually caused his death…..WTF?! How about this find him and the shooter/s of the other 3 fatal/7 fatal wounds guilty.
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Towerflower, my guess of what was going through the judge’s mind was, “Now, if I convict this man, how safe am I and my family going to be on the streets with other cops mad at my decision?”
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Towerflower, there we go — if one cop fires a fatal shot, just have another cop fire a fatal shot, and if the trials are separate, both get off. (SMH)
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No justice, no trust is right. These phony verdicts are only going to make people dig in.
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Money Mitch @TrillAC_ 7h7 hours ago
How in the hell could you fear gunshots were being fired from a car, yet jump on the HOOD of said car and shoot into it? #BreloVerdict
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How To Tell If You’re A Racist. A Test.
http://www.liberalamerica.org/2015/05/23/tell-youre-racist-test/
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I could vomit. When the Judge asked about the enhanced safety position I thought he was sold. In short………….The Fix is in.
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The judge was looking for a reason to find Brelo not guilty.
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What did I ever do to you,
for you to have such a skewed view?
You don’t know me, or who I am,
you hide behind you’re badge again!
I may be young, I may be old,
but if I’m dark, the stories told………….
It doesn’t matter, hands held high,
shoot him now, and watch him die!
A 12 year old, with a play gun,
just shoot him now, who cares, it’s done.
I can’t breathe, please let me move,
just hold him down, we DO NOT soothe.
We took him down, and now he’s dead,
he’s black, he’s dead, we’re one ahead.
And now our car is being chased,
we have no guns, how is this based?
Hundreds of shots rang out, and why,
because UNARMED blacks have to die!
Police have to get a clue! Police have to start talking to people in their community!
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Reblogged this on League of Bloggers For a Better World.
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Glenn, thanks so much for the reblog, dear friend.
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Of course another acquittal. The bench trial was our 1st clue. The second clue was the whitest judge I’ve ever seen. Why don’t they let the prosecution choose the judge or jury, they have the burden of proof & speak for the victims who can’t speak for themselves. The defendant already has an enormous advantage, he’s alive& gets to say whatever he wants about what he did &especially gets to say whatever he wants about what the victim said/did!
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The prosecution cannot choose the jury because that would not provide defendants with a have a jury of their “peers.” The judicial system is not designed for justice. It calls people from the same county to decide what type of citizens they want in their communities, which is biased from the foundation.
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Either they slant the jury or withhold evidence by declaring it inadmissable. The Kelly Thomas jury in Orange County, California wasn’t even allowed to see the videotape of the officers killing him.
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I just added a link to the verdict in the article above, and also to the right-side border of the blog under “Documents.”
The judge buttered the knife before he stuck it in.
Click to access michael-brelo-verdict-judge-o-donnell.pdf
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seems like everyone’s posting videos here.
really interesting history of when racism was created.
cute guy too 🙂
racism is for idiots low quality academic education and inaccurate historical knowledge.
we already know this because it’s been proven in study after study that racists are less intelligent w/marked lower than average IQs & terrible critical thinkers.
that’s why they’re too dumb to realize they’re being used to help the rich get richer by keeping the racists undereducated, poor & pitifully dependent on the approval of the rich.
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I am glad you posted this, Shannon! I just finished watching it on your twitter site.
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Oh so you now realize that I’m only pretending to be civilized here on the blog! 😇
what’s your twitter name so I know who you are becuz I really had no idea you were even on Twitter!
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You are funny. Let me just say that your comments are refreshing in both places, Shannon. 🙂
Yes, I have read your Twitter timeline for a LONG time. However, I do not have a Twitter account.
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@Shannon, true that.
White racists who vote against their own economic interest have the same mentality as the poor whites who fought for the wealthy slave owners during the Civil War.
It’s sad how some people don’t evolve.
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https://twitter.com/MrMilitantNegro/status/603684336970399744
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