Cleveland Now on the Clock ...

A Cleveland police officer who climbed onto the hood of a car after a chase and fired repeatedly at its unarmed occupants in 2012 was acquitted of manslaughter on Saturday by an Ohio judge.

The trial of the officer, Michael Brelo, played out amid broader questions about how the police interact with African-Americans and the use force, in Cleveland and across the country.

Officer Brelo was one of several officers who shot at Timothy Russell and his passenger, Malissa Williams, during a chase through the Cleveland area on Nov. 29, 2012. The chase, which started in downtown Cleveland, began after reports of gunfire from the car; prosecutors said the noise may have been the car backfiring.

After the gunfire reports, over 100 officers pursued the car for more than 20 miles at speeds that reached 100 miles an hour. Police officers fired 137 rounds at the car after it was cornered, prosecutors have said, including 49 by Officer Brelo.



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/u...eaths.html?emc=edit_na_20150523&nlid=65290979

 

in this day and age of GPS, satellite cameras, cellular technology, traffic cameras, social media, the Internet, and all of the other technology it blows my mind that we still chase cars like the Dukes of Fucking Hazard. Develop a bullet with a microchip in it. When a pursuit starts you fire the bullet into the vehicle's body panels and then monitor it on satellite. The criminal will think you backed off and the public will be safer. I'm about to watch porn on a device that permits me to make phone calls, listen to radio, read books and take pictures so spare me the "the technology isn't there" argument.

 

What happens if the criminal jumps out of the car and starts shooting at other people?

 

Depends on if he's already got 40 hours in that week or not ...

 

Well now, wait a minute. Back in 2012, we didn't know it wasn't okay to shoot unarmed black males.

 

This just in: Roger Goodell has suspended the officer for four games.

 

But what does LeBron think of this?

 

Plain-Dealer's "Crime Editor" (now there's a great title for the resume) gets arrested for being among the protesters and had forgotten his press pass. He gives an interesting perspective on what it's like being among the arrested.

Northeast Ohio Media Group crime editor arrested during Brelo verdict protest (photos) | cleveland.com

 

I read in a Joseph Wambaugh novel that on police chases there is usually a breakdown in police discipline. Chases are very dangerous to the police officers involved and bystanders. The more cars in the chase the more chances of an accident. Standard policy in most departments is to limit pursuit to a couple cars for the aforementioned reasons. When the car is stopped then more cars quickly respond. But the chase invariably turns into an event where lots of card join in.

And when it ends the pent up adrenaline of the officers kicks in.