Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo listens to testimony during his trial Thursday, April 9, 2015, in Cleveland. Brelo is being tried on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the November 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, after a high-speed chase. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, Pool) (The Associated Press)
CLEVELAND – The judge who will decide whether a Cleveland police officer is guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of two unarmed suspects killed in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire has visited the crime scene and examined the suspects' bullet-riddled car.
Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell quietly asked questions Friday at the crime scene and at a warehouse where the car and two police cruisers involved in the chase are stored.
Defendant Michael Brelo wasn't present. The 31-year-old officer is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of 43-year-old Timothy Russell and 30-year-old Malissa Williams in November 2012.
Brelo's bench trial began Monday. Prosecutors say Brelo was charged and other officers weren't because his final salvo came after Russell and Williams no longer were a threat.
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