More than a dozen protesters arrested in Cleveland after white cop is cleared in shooting of unarmed black couple through their windshield in 137-bullet barrage

Cop 'can't remember' climbing on car hood and firing last 15 shots of 137-bullet barrage that killed unarmed couple (even though his footprints were found and his colleague says they talked about it)

• Michael Brelo, 31, was acquitted of two voluntary manslaughter charges 
• Shot at Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, in November 2012
• Pair died during a 137-shot barage by police after a high-speed chase 
• He was one of 13 who fired, but was the only one criminally charged 
• Protests began around the city as soon as the acquittal was revealed and police have made multiple arrests
• Cleveland Cavalier's LeBron James as called for calm   
• Report by Department of Justice condemned Cleveland Police for their excessive use of force in December  

The Cleveland cop who jumped onto the hood of a car and fired 15 shots at an unarmed couple killed during a gunfight with police has been found not guilty.

Michael Brelo, 31, broke down in tears as he acquitted in a Cleveland, Ohio, court of two counts of voluntary manslaughter for the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30.

The pair died during a 137-shot barage by police after a high-speed chase in November 2012.

Judge John O'Donnell said it was difficult to determine who delivered the fatal blow, adding that Brelo acted responsibly on the night of the incident.

The trial, which began on April 6, took place as high-profile killings of unarmed black men by white police officers continue to pile pressure on U.S. law enforcement. 

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Williams (left) and Russell (right) were both killed during the 137-bullet gunfight in November 2012 

Protestors block a downtown intersection and yell at Cleveland Police officers following Brelo's verdict

Before issuing his verdict, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell noted the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore over the deaths of black suspects but said he would not 'sacrifice' Brelo to an angry public if the evidence did not merit a conviction.

'Guilty or not guilty, the verdict should be no cause for a civilized society to celebrate or riot,' he said.

According to Cleveland.com, the Russell family was 'extremely disappointed' with the verdict'.

Russell's sister, Michelle Russell, said she believed Brelo would ultimately face justice.

'He's not going to dodge this just because he was acquitted,' she said. 'God will have the final say.' 

The US Justice Department, US Attorney's Office and the FBI will review the testimony and evidence and examine all available legal options, said Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Community and city leaders braced for the possibility of unrest in response to the verdict, which came as investigators work toward making a decision on whether charges will be filed in the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was carrying a pellet gun when shot by a white rookie officer late last year. 

Demonstrators pause at the entrance to the Cuyahoga County Justice Center as police stand guard during a protest in Cleveland on Saturday 

Riot police stand in formation as a protest forms against the acquittal of Michael Brelo. Police said three people were arrested near Quicken Loans Arena following a clash with officers around 6.20pm

Cleveland police shared on Twitter there had been multiple arrests during protests on Saturday (above two protesters are arrested)

Throughout the day during the protests some carried signs saying 'Will I Be Next?' and 'I Can't Breathe' and 'Freddie Gray Lynched'

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During protests it was reported that officers showed protesters cans of pepper spray as they approached those being arrested

Demonstrators face-off with police during a march in Cleveland on Saturday

'We will get justice,' said Art McCoy of the Black Man Army, a coalition of black leaders. 'We are not happy with this verdict.'

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is not commenting directly on the acquittal, but he is expressing hope the city would remain calm.

The King tells reporters that 'violence is not the answer, and it's all about trying to find a solution, for good or for bad.'

His team is playing Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final in Cleveland on Sunday night.

Saturday night, protesters temporarily blocked downtown street intersections and chanted anti-police slogans.

In the city's Warehouse District, more than a dozen protesters were arrested by police in riot gear for failing to disperse from an alley, police said.

The unusual timing of the verdict - a Saturday morning on a holiday weekend - was intentional. The county's top judge said it was meant to prevent traffic issues downtown.

Shortly after the verdict was reached, about 30 sheriff's deputies stood in front of the courthouse bearing clear shields as protesters with bullhorns chanted. 

One demonstrator bowed his head with hands folded in front of the phalanx of deputies, praying in silence. 

The deputies then moved inside the entrance of the justice center, and the plaza in front of the building was soon cordoned off. 

Brelo briefly stepped outside with his attorneys but, for his own protection, he was moved back inside.

Demonstrators block a highway as protests and marches started to spread around the city  

Alfredo Williams, left, and Renee Robinson, cousins of Malissa Williams who is one of the victims, protests outside the courthouse. Williams said he will never trust the police again and, if his house is broken, will take matters into his own hands

A pictured released by prosecutors shows the bullet-riddled Chevy Malibu the pair were driving on the night they died. Around 100 police officers were involved in the high speed chase earlier that night 

Hours after the verdict protesters blocked a highway in Cleveland that runs downtown and along Lake Erie - forming a line along the highway, blocking traffic in both directions.

About 200 people also gathered for a mock funeral to protest the acquittal of a Cleveland police officer in the deaths of two unarmed suspects.

Dozens of people walked in a peaceful procession carrying a black, plywood coffin and softly singing 'I'm going up yonder, we're marching, we're marching.' 

Others also staged a funeral around a mock casket which mourners pretended held the body of youngster Rice. 

Three people were arrested near Quicken Loans Arena following a clash with police around 6.20pm and officers showed protesters cans of pepper spray as they approached those being arrested, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Cleveland police shared on Twitter that they arrested one male for assault. Police said he threw an object through a window injuring a restaurant patron.

The tweet said: '3 arrested for Aggravated Riot, Felonious Assault, Obstructing Justice in E. 4 restaurant patron assaulted incident.' 

Sister of Timothy Russell says Brelo will ultimately face justice

Protestors sing in front of a mock casket for Tamir Rice - the 12-year-old boy who was shot by a Cleveland police officer while holding a toy gun in November 2014 

One man holds his hands in the air as he walks past a police officer on a motorcycle 

Around 9pm another tweet was shared by Cleveland police that said 'multiple arrests E. 4th Street due to unlawful behavior by large crowd.'

At least four protesters were arrested following a skirmish that broke out at the East 4th Street restaurant strip, according to Cleveland.com. 

During the protest some carried signs saying 'Will I Be Next?' and 'I Can't Breathe' and 'Freddie Gray Lynched.'

About 150 protesters were marching down the middle of downtown Cleveland streets when the intersections were blocked as they chanted anti-police slogans.

The protesters passed by large crowds leaving a Cleveland Indians game against the Cincinnati Reds and made downtown vehicle and pedestrian traffic even more congested.

Sports fans were standing at street corners taking cellphone pictures of the protesters as they marched behind a large banner that said 'Stop murder by police.' 

Brelo hugs his attorney, Patrick DíAngelo, after the not guilty verdict in his trial

He put his head in his hands as he was acquitted for his role in the bullet barage that killed the unarmed pair

On Saturday Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams confirmed Brelo will remain on unpaid suspension until a critical incident report into his actions is completed. 

He added that officers will continue to monitor the situation in the city to ensure it doesn't get out of hand.

Marcia Fudge, who represents Ohio's 11th congressional district, said the verdict is a setback for justice.

She said in a statement: 'The verdict is another chilling reminder of the broken relationship between the Cleveland Police Department and the community it serves.'

The politicians said the amount of bullets fired by the group of Cleveland officers as 'extreme, excessive and unnecessary.'

She added: 'We still have a long way to go toward racial equality and justice in Ohio, and in the entire United States of America.' 

Brelo was the lone officer among the 13 who fired their weapons that night who was charged criminally because prosecutors say he continued firing four seconds after the other officers had stopped shooting. 

He fired 49 of those shots that night, but it was the final 15 fired into the windshield while he stood on the hood of Russell's car that led his indictment and a four-week trial.

The officer could have faced 22 years in prison if convicted on both counts. 

County Common Pleas Court Judge John O'Donnell points to mannequins marked with the gunshot wounds

People protest outside the house of Prosecutor Timothy McGinty who brought charges against Brelo

The crowd held placards as they marched towards the attorney's home 

Earlier in the trial, Brelo's attorney Patrick D'Angelo conceded that his tactics could be called into question given that Brelo exposed himself to danger when he stepped onto the hood of a beat-up Chevy Malibu. 

But Brelo and 12 officers who shot into the car in November 2012 had ample reason to believe that Russell and Williams were shooting at them, he said.

D'Angelo has insisted he doesn't think what Brelo and the other officers did that night was heroic.

More than 100 Cleveland police officers in five dozen cars were involved in the chase at some point. 

It started after the car backfired outside a Cleveland police station. Officers feared someone in the car had just fired a gun. 

When the chase finally came to an end, the pair were each shot more than 20 times.

Prosecutors argued Russell and Williams were alive until Brelo's final salvo but medical examiners for both sides testified they could not determine the order in which the deadly shots were fired.

The case hinged largely on the less than eight seconds - 7.392, to be exact - during which Brelo fired his final 15 rounds.

O'Donnell said he believed Brelo caused some of the fatal wounds - four of 23 shots would have killed Russell and seven of 24 would have killed Williams - but that other officers must have as well.

He also said a voluntary manslaughter conviction would require that Brelo's shots alone were the causes of death or the final wounds tipped the balance between life and death.

Cleveland mayor urges calm after Michael Brelo verdict

A view of the mockup of a crime scene showing the car positions during the manslaughter trial for a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 10

A protester with his hands up walks by a Cleveland police officer following the not guilty verdict

O'Donnell spent nearly an hour explaining his decision, even using mannequins marked with gunshot wounds. 

Brelo could have been convicted of lesser charges, but O'Donnell determined his actions were justified following the chase, which included reports of shots fired from Russell's car, because officers perceived a threat.

D'Angelo, said Brelo had been unfairly prosecuted. He called the case a 'blood fight.'

'Officer Brelo risked his life on that night,' he said.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said he respects the judge's decision. Despite the acquittal, he said the case will prevent police violence in the future.

'This tragic experience has already forced a culture change within the division of police and a needed reexamination of the use of deadly force,' he said.

Authorities never learned why Russell didn't stop. He had a criminal record including convictions for receiving stolen property and robbery and had been involved in a previous police pursuit. 

Williams had convictions for drug-related charges and attempted abduction. Both were described as mentally ill, homeless and addicted to drugs. A crack pipe was found in the car.

Protesters are directed to a bus for transport after getting arrested after protesting the acquittal of Brelo

The acquittal came at a time of nationwide tension among police and black citizens punctuated by protests over the deaths of black suspects at the hands of white officers (above protesters wait after being arrested)

A protester films riot police as they advance on a small march

A grand jury charged five police supervisors with misdemeanor dereliction of duty for failing to control the chase. All five have pleaded not guilty and no trial date has been set. 

The shooting helped prompt an investigation by the Department of Justice, which concluded the department had engaged in a pattern and practice of using excessive force and violating civil rights. The city and DOJ are currently negotiating over reforms. 

In December, the U.S. Justice Department concluded Cleveland police officers too often violate people's civil rights because of inadequate training and a lack of supervision and accountability.

'Discipline is so rare that no more than 51 officers out of a sworn force of 1,500 were disciplined in any fashion in connection with a use of force incident over a three-and-a half-year period,' the report said. 

Some of the worrying findings included:  

— Officers fired guns at people who did not pose 'an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to officers or others.'

— Officers used guns in a 'careless and dangerous manner,' including hitting suspects in the head with their firearms and firing in ways that place innocent bystanders in danger.

— Officers used stun guns and pepper spray instead of trying to de-escalate situations.

— Officers punched suspects who have been handcuffed 'as punishment' after a person struggled with an officer or did not comply with demands.

— Officers arrested and assaulted mentally ill people after family members called police for help.

— Officers reported receiving little supervision, guidance, and support, leaving them to determine for themselves how to perform their jobs.

— Supervisors endorse questionable and unlawful conduct. Investigations of officers' use of force appear to be designed to justify officers' actions.

— The department is often antagonistic toward the community it serves. A large sign hanging in one station identified it as a 'forward operating base,' a war zone military term. 

Mounted police follow a procession of people as head outside the house of Prosecutor McGinty

Demonstrators hold up flags as they march to the attorney's home, surrounded by police officers 

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• Cleveland, Ohio, officer Michael Brelo is facing two counts of manslaughter
• Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, killed during 2012 shooting
• Brelo's footprints were found on hood of Chevy Malibu where they died 
• Rookie said he learned about hood 'because [Brelo] was talking about it'
• Judge will decide Brelo's fate and he faces a max sentence of 25 years 

An Ohio police officer who jumped on the hood of a car and fired the final 15 rounds of a 137-shot barrage that killed a pair of unarmed suspects is claiming that he doesn't remember doing it.

Michael Brelo goes on trial on Monday charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter for the deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30. 

He is the lone officer among the 13 who fired their weapons that night who is charged criminally because prosecutors say he stood on the hood and opened fire four seconds after the other officers had stopped shooting.

A rookie cop told the same investigators Michael Brelo spoke with that the 31-year-old Cleveland officer talked about it in the days after the November 2012 shooting.

Brelo's footprints were also found on the hood of the beat-up Chevy Malibu where Russell, 43, and Williams, 30, died.

Cleveland officer Michael Brelo is facing charges after two unarmed suspects were killed in this Chevy Malibu

Brelo faces two voluntary manslaughter charges after firing the final 15 rounds of the deadky 137-shot barrage

The car was strafed by police gunfire and its two unarmed occupants were killed after a high-speed chase over streets and freeways in and around Cleveland. 

When Brelo was questioned by investigators two weeks after the shooting, he told them he didn't recall what happened.

He said: 'It's possible because I was so terrified that I was going to get run over.'

'But I don't recall that, sir.' 

Rookie officer Brian Sabolik  who was assigned to the same district as Brelo, told investigators he stopped firing after 'someone' jumped on the hood of the Malibu. 

Officer Sabolik said he later learned it was Brelo.

Asked how he found out, Sabolik said: 'Because [Brelo] was talking about it.'

While Brelo claimed not to remember jumping on the hood, prosecutors have evidence to show that he did. 

Investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation found footprints on the hood of the Malibu that matched a set found on the trunk and roof of a police car that Brelo had climbed on top of to fire from behind the light bar. 

Brelo is currently suspended.  

Ohio officer Michael Brelo is facing two counts of manslaughter

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Photos released by the Office of the Ohio Attorney General show a Cleveland cruiser sitting next to the Chevy

Brelo goes on trial Monday on two counts of voluntary manslaughter for the deaths of Russell and Williams.

He is the lone officer among the 13 who fired their weapons that night who is charged criminally because prosecutors say he stood on the hood and opened fire four seconds after the other officers had stopped shooting.

A judge - not a jury - will decide whether Brelo is guilty or innocent. 

He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years if convicted.

Brelo's defense team has argued that all 49 rounds Brelo fired that night, including the last 15, were lawful.

The threat from the pair didn't end until Brelo reached into the Malibu and removed the keys to prevent the suspects from using the car as a weapon, according to his defense. 

Russell and Williams were each shot more than 20 times.

The chase started with a failed traffic stop on the edge of downtown by a plainclothes detective who never reported to dispatchers that he'd lost sight of the vehicle. 

Russell then sped past Cleveland police headquarters, where his car backfired. 

Officers and witnesses standing outside were certain they'd heard gunshots and a police radio call for shots fired triggered an adrenaline-fueled rush by officers to join the chase.

Brelo and his partner were two of the first officers to join the pursuit that ultimately included more than 60 police cars, 104 officers and reached at least 100mph.

In this forensics picture, bullet trajectories from the deadly shooting are marked off on the Chevy Malibu 

After driving into a school parking lot more than 20 minutes after the chase began, Russell turned the car around and tried to flee again - sideswiping a cruiser before coming to a stop. 

Another officer, who said he feared for his life, opened fire, prompting others including Brelo to do the same.

Brelo and his partner fired 15 rounds through their own windshield and told investigators they saw dark objects in Russell's and Williams' hands. 

Brelo said he left his cruiser because he said he was afraid the Malibu would hit him, even though he then crossed in front of the car to climb on top of another cruiser and open fire again.

He told investigators: 'I had leapt trying to get out of the way of this car so it doesn't run me over and kill me.'

Investigators found footprints on the hood of the Malibu (left) that matched a set found on the trunk and roof of a police car (right) that Brelo had climbed on top of to fire from behind the light bar

Investigators eventually concluded that neither Russell nor Williams had a gun. 

An exhaustive search was conducted along the route of the pursuit, including the use of a dive team to look in bodies of water, but no gun was ever found. 

Regardless of the trial's outcome, the after-effects of the chase and shooting will likely endure for years to come.

The incident helped spur a US Justice Department probe that concluded Cleveland police officers have shown a pattern and practice of using excessive force. 

The city and federal authorities are negotiating a consent decree to reform the police department that will cost the city millions of dollars to implement and enforce. 

Cleveland has already paid $3million to the families of Russell and Williams to settle a lawsuit.