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Ohio Governor After Cop Acquitted: ‘The People Of Cleveland Should Be Proud’

Beenish Ahmed
CREDIT: AP
CREDIT: AP

“[T]he people of Cleveland should be proud of what’s been happening here in the last 24 hours,” Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) told ABC News on Sunday. Seventy-one people were arrested in the city when protests broke out following the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black people in 2012.

When asked if he believed justice was served by the verdict, Kasich told ABC’s Jonathan Karl, “Well, look, the verdict is the verdict, John. What I will say is that I think the people of Cleveland handled this, I mean, they should be so proud of themselves and we should look at Cleveland as a model.”

Protests in Cleveland did not result in the looting and vandalism that occurred at the height of outrage over police brutality in Ferguson and Baltimore. While Cleveland police readied themselves for protests to turn violent, reports described the scene as largely peaceful and organized. ‘

Nonetheless, the tensions between police and protesters remained evident, as activists become increasingly exasperated with failures to hold police accountable in the months after two other prominent deaths involving Cleveland police — that of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, and mentally ill woman Tanisha Anderson.

Kasich referred to new data collection and oversight mechanisms to monitor police miscommunication and mishandling that contributed to the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in November.

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“Fortunately,” he said, “We started this months ago. We’re the only task force on police in the community that I’m aware of in the country. And it’s serving us well.” When asked about the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, he said only that he’s hoping for a resolution “sooner than later.”

Cleveland’s Police Chief Calvin D. Williams said after the verdict, “While the first amendment rights of those wishing to lawfully express their thoughts and views will be supported by the Division of Police, any unlawful behavior, acts of violence or destruction of property, will not be tolerated.”

As ThinkProgress reported, Cuyahoga Country Judge John O’Donnell, who presided over the case, said he did not have enough certainty that Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo killed Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, after he mounted the hood of their car and fired 15 shots through its windshield:

In his ruling Saturday morning, O’Donnell reasoned that he couldn’t find beyond a reasonable doubt that the deaths of Russell and Williams were caused by Brelo’s gunshots, since some of the 12 other officers who fired gunshots could have contributed to their deaths. He also said the actions of all of the officers were justified by their reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm at the time, even though the officers later learned that neither Russell nor Williams had a gun in their car as they fled from officers.

The car driven by Timothy Russell after it was pummeled with 137 bullets. CREDIT: AP
The car driven by Timothy Russell after it was pummeled with 137 bullets. CREDIT: AP

“I’m just so mad we never get justice from any of the police killings,” Alicia Kirkman, a Cleveland resident who said she joined a march which converged on the site of Tamir Rice’s death.

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Kirkman told the Associated Press that she joined the march in honor of her son who was killed in a police shooting eight years ago. She settled with the city after her son’s death but no charges were filed.