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[h=4]Calm returns to Cleveland after protests over officer's acquittal[/h]Streets in Cleveland were largely calm Sunday morning after a number of people were arrested in protests after a police officer was acquitted Saturday in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black suspects following a high-speed car chase.
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Family members of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams spoke out after police officer Michael Brelo was found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Brelo shot and killed the pair after a high speed chase. VPC
People take to the streets and protest in reaction to Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo being acquitted of manslaughter charges after he shot two people at the end of a 2012 car chase in which officers fired 137 shots May 23, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.(Photo: Ricky Rhodes, Getty Images)
Streets in Cleveland were largely calm Sunday morning after a number of people were arrested in protests after a police officer was acquitted Saturday in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black suspects.
Michael Brelo, a white officer, was found not guilty on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, after a high-speed chase in November 2012.
Brelo, 31, faces administrative charges while remaining suspended without pay, but he no longer faces the prospect of prison.
Cleveland is now awaiting a decision on criminal charges against a white officer in the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old boy who was carrying a pellet gun.
USA TODAY
Cleveland cop acquitted of deaths in 137-shot barrage
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell, after reading a 34-page summary of the case, said he found that "Brelo's entire use of deadly force was a constitutionally reasonable response to an objectively reasonably perceived threat of great bodily harm from the occupants of the Malibu, Russell and Williams."
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Michael Brelo, a white Cleveland police officer on trial for voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of two unarmed black suspects, reacts as the judge renders a not guilty verdict. VPC
Before delivering his verdict, O'Donnell noted the recent unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore over the deaths of black suspects by police officers, but said he would not "sacrifice" Brelo to an angry public if the evidence did not merit a conviction. "Guilty or not guilty, the verdict should be no cause for a civilized society to celebrate or riot," he said.
Angry but mostly orderly protests followed the verdict. More than a dozen protesters were arrested Saturday night for failing to disperse from an alley in the city's Warehouse District on downtown's west side, deputy police chief Wayne Drummond said. Several other people were arrested elsewhere downtown.
USA TODAY
Protesters march through Cleveland, block Shoreway
Alicia Kirkman, 47, said she joined the march in honor of her son, who was killed in a police shooting eight years ago.
"I'm just so mad we never get justice from any of the police killings," said Kirkman, who said she settled with the city after her son's death, but no charges were filed.
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Protesters took to the streets of Cleveland after a white police officer was found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Michael Brelo shot and killed two unarmed black suspects following a high speed chase that lasted more than 20 miles. VPC
The 2012 incident began with a chase after Russell's beat-up Chevy Malibu backfired as it sped past police headquarters. The loud bang caused officers to think someone in the car had fired a gun.
Although 13 officers fired at the car after the chase, only Brelo faced criminal charges. Prosecutors said Brelo waited until the car had stopped and the pair were no longer a threat before he leaped onto the hood and fired 15 rounds down into the windshield.
Prosecutors argued Russell and Williams were alive until Brelo's final volley. Brelo's attorneys argued that other officers fired during the final round and that prosecutors could not prove in which order the fatal shots were fired. Russell and Williams were each shot more than 20 times.
USA TODAY
Tamir Rice's mom: 'Doesn't matter who's investigating'
Within hours of the verdict, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement saying that it will "review the testimony and evidence" present in the trial and consider possible legal options.
The first protest formed outside the Justice Center Saturday morning while Judge O'Donnell read from his verdict.
A larger protest of around 200 people gathered at noon near where Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty lives. Both protests later merged at a recreation center where the 12-year-old Rice was killed by a rookie patrol officer last November.
While that demonstration became boisterous, with Eugene Rice angrily calling for justice for his grandson, it remained peaceful.
An investigation into the Tamir Rice shooting is nearly complete and will be given to the prosecutor's office to decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams are set to have a news conference Sunday morning after the protests following the Brelo verdict.
Contributing: WKYC-TV, Associated Press
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