Michael Brelo Verdict: From Gunfire to Not Guilty

It was exactly one week after Thanksgiving in 2012, a Thursday night.

It started with what eventually turned out to be a car backfiring outside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland, a sound police officers outside mistook for gunfire from a passing car. It ended 22 minutes later in a hail of police gunfire in the parking lot of a middle school in East Cleveland.

137 shots were fired in that parking lot. When the gunshots ended amid the flashing lights of the police cruisers involved in the wild pursuit, two people were dead inside the blue 1979 Chevy Malibu SS. It was determined that neither Timothy Russell nor Malissa Williams were armed.

SPECIAL SECTION: Cleveland Police Chase

Driver Timothy Russell, 43, who had driven the Malibu at speeds sometimes in excess of 100 mph, lay dead in the front seat with 23 shots in his body. Front seat passenger Malissa Williams, 30, whose side door had been C-clamped shut, was also dead, with 24 shots in her body.

In all, more than 100 officers and 60 police vehicles were involved in the pursuit. Only one Cleveland police officer -- Patrolman Michael Brelo, -- stood trial in their deaths.

From that night until Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell announced his verdict about Brelo's fate, Cleveland watched as Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland erupted into protests over their own police-involved deaths.

As in Cleveland, the two killed in Ferguson and Baltimore were African-Americans.

It took nearly an hour for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell to deliver his verdict Saturday morning. It was a 35-page verdict but O'Donnell said he would only refer to about 10 pages of the verdict.

O'Donnell found Brelo not guilty on the two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell. In addition, he also found Brelo not guilty on both lesser counts of felonious assault, something he could also rule upon.

O'Donnell repeatedly used the phrase "beyond a reasonable doubt," which is the standard that the prosecution had to meet to get Brelo convicted. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty is expected to hold a news conference later Saturday.

Lead defense attorney Pat D'Angelo spoke right after the verdict was read. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is also scheduled to hold a press conference at 1 p.m.

READ : Michael Brelo verdict

It began about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 29, 2012, outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center. That's when two police officers heard what they thought was a gunshot coming from a blue 1979 Chevy Malibu SS that rounded the corner. They pursued the Malibu and, as other officers heard the police radio dispatch talk about what was happening, others joined the pursuit.

It wound through the city streets in Cleveland and onto the East Shoreway into Bratenahl and then exited and traveled into East Cleveland.

At times the Malibu SS reached speeds of more than 100 mph and involved an estimated one-third of the members of the Cleveland police force on duty that night, at least two Bratenahl police officers and, eventually, East Cleveland police officers.

More than 60 police vehicles were involved in the pursuit at one time or another. It ended in the parking lot of Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland.

COP CAM: Who's watching you and who's not?

Just before 11 p.m., despite the fact that he was surrounded by police, Russell drove across a traffic island a few feet from where Cleveland Police Officer Diaz was standing, and then continued down the driveway until the Malibu crashed into the side of zone car 238 and a few feet from Officer Brelo's zone car 217.

Shots were being fired at Russell and Williams inside the Malibu SS by at least 13 officers. The last shots were fired by Brelo as he had jumped atop the trunk of zone car 238, then atop its roof's light bar and, eventually, onto the hood of the Malibu SS.

PHOTO GALLERY: Photos from the scene at Heritage Middle School

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty was in the courtroom at the prosecution table each and every day of the trial. Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Rick Bell, Erica Barnhill, Sherrie Royster, James Gutierrez, and Sarah Denney, presented the different phases of the case and questioned different witnesses.

Lead defense attorney Pat D'Angelo represented Brelo, along with attorneys Fernando Mack, Marissa Serrat and Thomas Shaughnessy.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell heard the case himself and, therefore, there was no jury. The trial got underway on April 6 and closing arguments were made May 5.

RELATED: Closing arguments in Brelo trial

O'Donnell has been on the bench of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court since 2002. A graduate of Cleveland Marshall College of Law, he ran for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court in 2014 but lost to incumbent Justice Judith French.

During that campaign, he was endorsed by both the Ohio Police Patrolman's Benevolent Association and the Black Women's Political Action Committee.

Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo, 31, is an Iraq War Marine veteran who returned home and first became a corrections officer in Bedford Heights. In 2007, he joined the Cleveland Police Department, according to CPD records. He has a fiancee, Andrea, and two children.

He was charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter.

PROSECUTOR: Full statement on police chase indictments

Five other officers -- Sergeant Randolph Daley, Sergeant Patricia Coleman, Sergeant Paul Wilson, Lieutenant Jason Edens and Sergeant Michael Donegan -- are charged with dereliction of duty and will go to trial.

On Dec. 4, 2014, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Cleveland to announce the findings of the Department of Justice investigation.

Holder and his colleagues announced, in part, that:

"The Department of Justice ("DOJ") has completed its civil pattern or practice investigation of the Cleveland Division of Police ("CDP" or "Division"). We have concluded that we have reasonable cause to believe that CDP engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Our investigation under the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141 focused on allegations of excessive force by CDP officers.

We have determined that structural and systemic deficiencies and practices—including insufficient accountability, inadequate training and equipment, ineffective policies, and inadequate engagement with the community—contribute to CDP's use of unreasonable force.

For these reasons, and because this is the second time in the last ten years that the DOJ has investigated and found the need for reforms at CDP, we believe that comprehensive reform can only be assured with outside verification in the form of a federal consent decree which includes an independent monitor.

The release of this findings letter marks the end of a civil investigation that began in March 2013, following a series of highly publicized incidents that suggested critical flaws exist in CDP's use of force policies, procedures, and practices, including CDP's ability and willingness to properly assess officers' uses of force and hold officers accountable for their actions.

These incidents also revealed a rift between CDP and certain segments of the communities it serves."

FULL REPORT: DOJ summary on Cleveland Police

Brelo was not the only member of the Cleveland Police Department who was charged. A Cuyahoga County grand jury also returned misdemeanor charges of dereliction of duty against five supervisors.

Those officers were Lt. Paul Wilson, and Sgts. Randolph Daley, Michael Donegan,Jason Edens and Patricia Coleman.

Attorney General Mike DeWine's office and the state crime lab, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, investigated the shooting.

DeWine found the chase and shootings to be the result of a "systemic failure" within the department. DeWine's office turned the findings over to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty's office, which assembled a grand jury in the fall of 2013.

The state investigation found that 64 officers violated orders, but none of these officers received anything longer than a 10-day suspension.

The department's own Critical Incident Review Committee finished its review of the pursuit and determined that 63 of the 104 officers involved in the pursuit would be suspended for one to 10 days for excessive speeding, insubordination and failure to get permission to join the pursuit.

RELATED: DOJ, City of Cleveland agree to reform police department

It was 16 months after the Nov. 29, 2012 chase -- March 2014 -- that Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams unveiled a new police pursuit policy during a news conference.

According to Williams, the revised policy sets clear definitions and restrictions for all officers involved in a pursuit as well as limits conditions under which a chase can be utilized.

The policy also sets a clear chain of command, with a supervisor solely tasked with handling the pursuit. The policy only allows for two zone cars to be involved in a chase unless the supervisor handling the incident can clearly define why additional officers are needed.

Williams says the chase policy revision has been in the works for a year-and-a-half. He says the department's policies are continually updated.

More than 1,000 exhibits and dozens of witnesses took the stand in the trial. Experts, family members and more experts gave their testimony in a trial that began on April 6 and ended on May 5. Use the interactive timeline below to see the day-to-day coverage.

On Day 8 (April 15) of the trial, O'Donnell reconvened the afternoon session at 3 p.m. A Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Protective Service Officer entered the courtroom.

The officer tells O'Donnell he heard a threat from one of the spectators during the break that, if Brelo is not convicted, he would kill him himself.

The officer testified that the spectator was still in the courtroom.

That's when the spectator identified himself as Alfredo Williams, denied saying what he was accused of, and the judge advised him not to speak and to leave the courtroom with the officers to talk to them elsewhere.

Williams, 36, is Malissa Williams' cousin.

RELATED: Day 8 Brelo trial: Threat alleged

He was subsequently charged with a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct.

He pleaded not guilty on April 29 and was acquitted on May 13 when Judge Emanuella Groves found him not guilty after a four-hour trial.

It was a barrage of experts who pored over the evidence and exhibits. The prosecution alone entered more than 1,000 pieces of evidence -- audio, visual and reports.

As far as exhibits, the prosecution had an FBI-prepared scale model of the parking lot of Heritage Middle School, complete with model vehicles and figures.

RELATED: Cleveland | What's changed since the 2012 pursuit?

And then there were the bullets and casings.

During his testimony, BCI ballistics expert Michael Roberts said, "I was not able to identify any of the bullets to any of the firearms."

The polygonal barrel of the Glock 17 does not leave a trace on the bullet.

Roberts stated, "There is insufficient detail scratched upon the side or surface of the bullet as it travels through the barrel to identify bullets to a particular barrel. I was not able to identify the pattern from test to test or evidence to test."

The next problem: Was there a way to conclusively identify the specific fatal shots?

During closing arguments, Assistant Prosecutor Sherrie Royster mocked the actions of Officer Brelo, "He says, 'I was thinking, 'why are they still moving?' He jumps onto the hood of Timothy's Malibu, he reloads his weapon and fires his last 15 shots into their bodies, essentially using them for target practice."

There were also two life-size mannequins representing Russell and Williams, used to show the trajectory of the bullets. Prosecutors claim the downward pattern was fatal fire from Brelo's gun.

But forensic pathologist Dr. Susan Roe, M.D., said that the prosecution claim was not accurate.

She told the court that she has performed more than 6,000 autopsies and testified to O'Donnell that "it is my opinion that the occupants of the Chevy Malibu, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, were already deceased when fired upon by Officer Brelo."

Perhaps the biggest issue: Was Officer Brelo justified in using deadly force on that night?

After the police chase entered the parking lot of Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland, Timothy Russell stopped his car at the far end of the lot.

Despite the fact that he was surrounded by police, Russell then drove across a traffic island a few feet from police Officer Diaz, and then continued down the driveway until he crashed into the side of zone car 238 and a few feet from Officer Brelo's car.

Police experts said that Russell had used his car as a deadly weapon, which then allowed the officers to respond with deadly force because they could reasonably state they were in fear for their lives or the lives of their fellow officers.

Ron Martinelli, a defense expert witness on police tactics and training, said, "From everything that I read, Officer Brelo, as the other officers have indicated, were in intense fear of their lives."

Martinelli added, "If an officer believes that, in order to stop a threat he has to take a risk and he has to do something that an officer wouldn't normally do like break cover, get on an elevated platform, get on the back of a car, as far as I'm concerned, if the officer believes that it's an imminent threat and he believes that he can stop that threat, I don't see any violations of policies or practices."

However, the prosecution's police expert W. Ken Katsaris disagreed with the justification for Officer Brelo getting on top of a police car and the suspect's vehicle.

"It's not trained, it's not appropriate," said Katsaris. He added, "It's taking yourself out from behind cover and you're putting yourself in crossfire and you're putting the other officers in jeopardy if you get shot ,now they have to save your life, which risks their life."

Katsaris testified that everything that Officer Brelo did prior to getting on the trunk of zone car 238 was acceptable. He testified that "everything after that point is objectively unreasonable."