True Crime Collection

Timothy Russell & Malissa Williams

Michael Brelo is an Iraq War veteran. When he returned home, he became a correctional officer in Bedford Heights, Ohio. He then joined the Cleveland Police Department in 2007.
Timothy has met Malissa at the Bishop Cosgrove Centre, where they both received free meals. He was living at the Metropolitan Ministry Centre prior to his death. Malissa Williams lived at the Norma Herr's Women Centre on Payne Avenue in Cleveland.

Timothy was driving his 1979 light blue Chevrolet Malibu and Malissa was seated in the passenger seat. A plainclothes police officer spotted Timothy's car in an area known for drug deals. The officer checked the licence plate which uncovered nothing notable. He then tried to pull the car over for a turn signal violation. Timothy did not pull over causing a police chase to ensue. As Timothy sped past 2 officers, they believed that they heard shots being fired. As no firearm was found in the vehicle, the sound was most likely caused by the car backfiring.

According to The Plain Dealer, the chase went up to speeds of 100mph and a total of 62 police cars were involved at one point. Officers from Cleveland, East Cleveland, Bratenahl, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority participated in the chase.

After a 22 mile chase, Timothy turned into Heritage Middle School, located in East Cleveland. Police officers later said they believed they saw a firearm in the car and that Timothy was planning on running them over. One officer subsequently opened fire, followed by others, killing both occupants. The amount of gunfire confused the officers into thinking they were being fired at from the vehicle. In the end, 13 officers fired a total of 137 bullets into the car, with Officer Michael Brelo firing 49 of those shots. Timothy was struck 23 times, and Malissa was struck 24 times. No weapon was recovered from the vehicle.

On 30th May, 2014, only 1 officer of the 13 who fired at the car, Michael Brelo, was indicted on 2 counts of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting. He was the only officer who continued to shoot even after the others stopped firing, and was said to have actually moved forward and jumped onto the hood of Timothy's car, after which he reportedly shot approximately 15 rounds. The 2 counts of voluntary manslaughter carried a maximum penalty of 22 years of prison if convicted. 5 police supervisors were also indicted for dereliction of duty. According to Cuyahoga County prosecutors, Michael stood on the hood of Timothy and Malissa's car and fired straight down at them through their windshield after the 12 other officers stopped firing. Prosecutors said that the actions were unreasonable and went past his duties as a police officer.

On 23rd May, 2015, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell found Michael not guilty of the charges. John stated that while Michael fired lethal shots at Timothy and Malissa, other officers did as well. John also found Michael not guilty of a lesser included charge of felonious assault, asserting that Michael was legally justified in his use of deadly force. John  read his 35 page verdict in court, and said there was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the prosecution had to meet to get Michael convicted.

On 3rd June, 2015, it was announced that an arrest warrant was filed against Michael for an alleged assault on his twin brother, Mark R. Brelo, on 27th May, in Bay Village, Ohio. The brothers turned themselves in on 3rd June, after Michael's intoxicated brother had run to a neighbours home to ask them to call 911 on his brother, Michael Brelo, by whom he was being chased and allegedly assaulted. They were released on their own recognisance.

On 26th January, 2016 the 6 officers were fired from their jobs at the Cleveland Police. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said that they would work to get the 6 reinstated to their positions. 5 of the 6 officers were reinstated in October 2017 as required by the ruling of an arbitrator.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on 24th May, 2015, that they would open an investigation in the deaths of Timothy and Malissa, and would review the testimony and evidence presented at Michael's trial. This investigation was closed in January 2017.

Trial for the 5 police officers that Cuyahoga County charged with misdemeanour dereliction of duty was set for 27th July, 2015. On 2nd July, 2015, the East Cleveland prosecutor filed its own dereliction of duty charges against the same 5 officers, and the County dismissed its charges on 24th July, 2015. The officers objected to moving the trial to East Cleveland, and appealed the dismissal. In May 2016 an Ohio appeals court held that the dismissal was improper, but in April 2017 the Ohio Supreme Court reversed and left it up to the trial court judge, William Dawson, to decide where the trial would go forward. Judge Dawson has not yet put the case on the docket.

In March 2018, 2 defence attorneys reported that prosecutors had offered to drop all charges against the officers if they paid fines of $5,000 each. They declined the offer. On 22nd March, 2018, prosecutors filed a formal motion asking the court to set a trial date. All 5 officers have pleaded not guilty. In July 2018, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the more then 5 ½ that had passed since the 2012 shooting violated their constitutional rights to a speedy trial. The court denied the motion on 20th September; the defendants intend to appeal.

In January 2019, the prosecutors dismissed all charges against 3 of the 5 supervising officers.

In July 2019, the case concluded with the police supervisor in charge of the officers involved in the '137 shots' case not guilty. East Cleveland Municipal Court confirmed Sgt. Patricia Coleman not guilty after a 3 day long trial, ending a year long battle. The Cleveland Division of Police continues to receive criticism from the public about the misdemeanour, claiming the actions were due to racism, as both fatalities were African American. Only 1 member of the division, Officer Michael Brelo, was charged after the on identity. Michael fired 49 of the shots but was not found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Michael was the only officer to lose his job following the shooting.

After Michael was acquitted, violet followed by peaceful protests and unrest ensued in downtown Cleveland, which led to the arrests of at least 71 people as of 25th May. Among those arrested were charged with felonious assault, rioting, and failure to disperse. At least 15 people were apprehended by riot police officers. The deaths of Timothy and Malissa were 2 of several killings of unarmed African Americans protested by the Black Lives Matters movement.

The families of Timothy and Malissa filed a lawsuit against the city of Cleveland, claiming they were liable for the wrongful deaths of the 2. In November 2014, Cleveland paid $3 million to the 2 families, which was split evenly.