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Protest At City Hall Over Brelo Disciplinary Hearings

Protesters Gathered In Front of City Hall (photo: Elizabeth Miller)

By Elizabeth Miller

A small group of demonstrators stood on the steps of City Hall Wednesday to protest the possible return of Officer Michael Brelo to the Cleveland Police Department.  Brelo appeared at a disciplinary hearing Monday on charges stemming from the 2012 car chase and fatal shooting of two unarmed individuals in the case that’s come to be known as 137 shots.

Around a dozen people including members of the group “Black Man’s Army” chanted and marched both inside and outside of City Hall wearing t-shirts depicting a scene from the 2012 case.

Passersby mostly watched, as did police officers monitoring the protest. 

Don Bryant heads the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network and is a member of Black Man’s Army.  As one of the protesters, Bryant says he hopes that more people will join future protests over controversial police cases.

“People gotta come together.  People in the community, if you’re living in the suburbs, please know – I live in the suburbs as well, but this county is all of ours," said Bryant.

"An injustice against one African American in the city of Cleveland is an injustice against all of us."

Brelo has been on unpaid leave for a year and a half.  He was found not guilty on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in May.