CLEVELAND -- Dozens of protesters appeared in court Monday in Cleveland on misdemeanor charges, some still wearing T-shirts with messages like "I Can't Breathe" or "Black Lives Matter." The 56 defendants had been jailed since a demonstration Saturday that followed a Cleveland police officer's acquittal on manslaughter charges.
Most of the protesters arraigned Monday were charged with refusal to disperse, and 35 pleaded no contest to an amended charge of disorderly conduct, which carries no jail time. Twenty people pleaded innocent and will contest the charges. One man pleaded guilty.
Except for a handful of protesters with outstanding warrants from unrelated cases, the defendants were released after the brief session in Cleveland Municipal Court. Outside the courthouse, which was mostly deserted because of the Memorial Day holiday, a line of sheriff's deputies stood behind temporary barriers near where activists handed out water bottles, soft drinks and bananas to the released protesters.
On Saturday, the demonstrators spent hours marching through this city after a judge acquitted officer Michael Brelo of manslaughter for his role in a 2012 car chase and shooting.
Although several officers fired a combined 137 shots in the episode, Brelo was singled out for manslaughter charges because he climbed onto the hood after the pursuit ended and fired 15 shots into the car. The car's unarmed occupants, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, both black, died from gunshot wounds. The judge ruled that the actions of Brelo, who is white, were lawful.
Talis Gage, 31, a Cleveland native now living in a different part of Ohio, was among those who pleaded no contest and was released Monday morning. As with others who pleaded no contest, the judge sentenced him to time served and did not issue a fine. Gage said he joined Saturday's protest because he believed that Brelo was guilty of a crime.
"What happened was not justice," Gage said outside the courthouse shortly after his release. "It was unfair for this man to walk away with no jail time at all."
Cleveland's streets have stayed calm since Saturday's protest, which was mostly peaceful but took a contentious turn toward the end. The police reported 71 arrests, including some for felonies. A court spokesman said the remaining adult defendants would appear before a judge today.
Many protesters have voiced broader concerns about Cleveland's police, especially the department's use of force and interactions with black people. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge Cleveland officers in two other high-profile deaths of black people: Tamir Rice, 12, who was playing with a replica gun when he was shot by an officer, and Tanisha Anderson, 37, who died after she was restrained face down on the pavement.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the Cleveland police engaged in a pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force."
A Section on 05/26/2015