Governor praises peaceful protests after officer cleared

Ohio Governor John Kasich has praised the mostly peaceful protests following the acquittal of a white patrolman charged in the deaths of two unarmed black motorists in a barrage of police gunfire.

Mon, 25 May, 2015 - 01:00

Tony Dejak

Kasich said yesterday on ABC’s This Week that people in Cleveland should be proud and that their response should serve as a model for the nation. Kasich said “the verdict is the verdict” when asked whether patrolman Michael Brelo’s acquittal on voluntary manslaughter charges was just.

Kasich says people dispirited by Saturday’s decision have a right to protest, but also said “God bless the people” for keeping their protests peaceful.

Police made numerous arrests as protesters took to the streets of Cleveland after a judge cleared patrolman Brelo, 31, over the deaths of two unarmed black suspects killed in a barrage of gunfire.

The judge said Brelo’s actions in the November 2012 shootings were justified because he believed that someone in the car containing Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams fired shots at police during the car chase.

The acquittal came at a time of nationwide tension over the deaths of black suspects at the hands of white officers.