Officer involved with chase in which 137 shots were fired wants job back
CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Former Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo wants his job back, and the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association is working to make that happen next month.
Brelo was one of the 13 police officers who fired a total of 137 bullets into a car during the November 2012 police chase that resulted in the deaths of driver Timothy Russell and passenger Malissa Williams.
It started in downtown Cleveland when officers mistook the sound of a car backfiring with a gunshot. The chase ended in school parking lot in East Cleveland with Williams shot 24 times and Russell shot 23 times.
A Cuyahoga County Grand Jury later indicted six police officers. Of those six, Michael Brelo was the only officer charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter. He was found not guilty on both counts. The remaining five were each charged with two counts of dereliction of duty. Their case is currently hung up in the Ohio Supreme Court waiting for a jurisdictional ruling.
You can view the newly filed Supreme Court merit brief here for more details.
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association will go into arbitration with the city of Cleveland with hopes of fighting Brelo’s September termination, according to the association. Both parties will present their arguments and an arbitrator will decide if Brelo gets back on the police force.
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