Timothy Russell’s Chevy Malibu
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation
Six Cleveland police officers involved in the deadly November 2012 police chase and shooting that claimed the lives of two unarmed black residents were fired Tuesday, the city’s Safety Director Michael McGrath announced.
Michael Brelo, the officer who fired 49 of the more than 100 police bullets during the chaotic pursuit, was among those fired, Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis confirmed to Cleveland.com.
On November 29, 2012, 43-year-old Cleveland man Timothy Russell led police on a chase through the city, reaching speeds of over 100 mph. After 22 minutes and more than 60 police cars joining the pursuit, the chase eventually came to end in a middle school parking lot, where a shootout ensued.
When it was all over, 13 officers fired 137 shots. Russell and Malissa Williams, a passenger in his 1979 Chevy Malibu, were hit more than 20 times each and died. No guns were found inside the car.
Investigators determined that every shot fired came from a Cleveland cop’s gun. It was later determined that most of the shots came from Brelo, who after all other cops had ceased fire, jumped on the hood of the Malibu and fired a second round of shots through the windshield.
In his interview with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation two weeks after the shooting, Officer Michael Brelo said that he and his partner heard and felt shots coming at them as soon as they drove up the middle school driveway.
“I’ve never been so afraid in my life,” said Brelo, who did a tour in Iraq in 2005 as a Marine. “I thought my partner and I would be shot and that we were going to be killed.”
Sixty-three Cleveland cops ended up with suspensions, but only Brelo faced charges. In May 2015, he was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter for Williams and Russell’s deaths.
At trial, a Cuyahoga County Judge John P. O'Donnell acquitted Brelo of the manslaughter charges. The judge said that Brelo’s actions were justified given the perceived threat level of the situation. He also said that the evidence did not prove definitively that the deadly shots came from Brelo’s gun.
Asked at a press conference Tuesday why it took nearly four years to fire the officers involved in the incident, CDP's Bureau of Special Investigations Commander James Chura said Tuesday that there was an “intentional delay” in the disciplinary process until after Brelo's criminal trial concluded.
“We allowed any criminal charges to work there way through the criminal justice system,” Chura said.
Chura added that in terms of the amount of "distance, time and [officers] involved" in the chase was “unprecedented" for the city and the department.
LINK: This Cop Is On Trial For Firing 49 Shots At Two Unarmed Suspects
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