137 Shots = Legal Murder

137 Shots Fired 

Cleveland cops claim that the car being driven by Timothy Russell backfired resulting in a high speed chase involving almost 100 officers. Mr. Russell and Malissa Williams, the only passenger in the car, didn't stand a chance against the pumped up, out of control murderous lawmen. Lawmen who acted like outlaws. Lawmen who acted like a mob of KKK murderers. See, the cop that initially pulled the couple over suspected that they were involved in drugs, but there was no proof.  Not only that, they were also unarmed.

False reports (lies) to police claimed that Russell and Williams were firing at cops and reloading (imaginary guns).  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine did grudgingly admit that there was a systematic failure in the Cleveland Police Department.  I'll say.  I'm no Constitutional scholar but since when did running from police equal a death sentence? Especially, when no murder, rape or other heinous crime had been committed. Cleveland cops appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner.

The U.S. Justice Department called Cleveland out over the pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary" force by the police department. As one commentator put it, if you have the suspect's license plate (which cops did have) then you don't engage in a high-speed chase. You do your job and track down the owner of the car, question and maybe arrest them at a later date.

It was obvious a deal had been struck by the prosecution which allowed the cop, Michael Brelo, to be acquitted of all charges. Even though Brelo jumped up on the hood of the car and fired 49 shots, 15 at point blank range, into the vehicle.  Most people call that murder. I know I do. There were 13 officers in total who fired 137 shots into the car and we can assume that they won't be found guilty of anything either.  They just killed a couple of black people. So, what?

That's the attitude of cops who work in Cleveland but don't live and may never have lived here.  The us versus them mentality is blatant. Cleveland cops have no real ties to the city or its citizens.  They kill 'em and lock 'em up then head on home to their lily white suburbs. I say bring back the residency laws that curbed the them versus us attitude. You get your paycheck from the city; you live in the city.

Some were hoping Cleveland would explode like Baltimore.  The reason citizens didn't give in to their righteous indignation and start burning stuff up is because Cleveland was one of many cities that survived the riots of the 60's, namely the Hough riots and Glenville Shootout.  Cleveland burned.  The neighborhoods still have the vacant lots where buildings and businesses used to stand but were never rebuilt.  We learned not to burn up our own community because no matter what the politicians said, no one would be coming to rebuild in a riot torn African American area.

The Justice Department and the City of Cleveland are working on a settlement and have reached an agreement regarding findings from a report issued in December 2014 which also outlines a pattern of excessive force against citizens, inadequate training regarding interaction with mentally and physically ill citizens and failure to investigate and discipline officers using excessive force.

I pray that the victims' families will be compensated for the murder of their loved ones. Whatever Timothy and Malissa were into that night, it should not have cost them their lives.  Had they been white, it would not have.