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1st LD: Cleveland white officer found not guilty in 2012 killing of unarmed black pair

Xinhua, May 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

A white police officer in the U. S. state of Ohio was found not guilty on Saturday of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of two unarmed black people after a high-speed chase in November 2012.

After a month-long trial, a judge found Cleveland Officer Michael Brelo, 31, not guilty of two counts of felony voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30.

"The state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Michael Brelo knowingly caused the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams," announced Cuyahoga County judge John O'Donnell.

Judge O'Donnell also ruled that Brelo was not guilty of two other lesser counts of felonious assault.

Brelo was one of the 13 officers who fired up to 137 shots at the two suspects after a car chase on Nov. 29, 2012. No officers except Brelo was charged in the incident. Endite