Prosecutors: Police witnesses uncooperative in Ohio shooting

[aGameOfThrones]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Prosecutors are preparing to question more than a dozen police officers as hostile witnesses if they continue to be uncooperative before the trial of another officer accused of firing the final shots of a 137-round barrage that killed two unarmed suspects in November 2012, according to court documents.

Most of the officers subpoenaed to testify have refused to speak with prosecutors ahead of the voluntary manslaughter trial of Cleveland patrolman Michael Brelo, 31. His trial is scheduled to begin April 6. In their motion, prosecutors said without the opportunity to interview the officers first, there is a concern that their testimony will differ from their previous statements given to criminal investigators after the shootings.


Should the judge in the case determine that an officer is a hostile witness, prosecutors will be able to suggest answers to questions, something that normally is allowed only during a cross-examination. Sixteen officers have not responded to requests for interviews, prosecutors said, while several are cooperating.

Most of the officers subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify either fired their weapons or were in the parking lot of an East Cleveland school where the shooting occurred. Thirteen officers fired into a car that night after a high-speed chase, but only Brelo was indicted because he jumped on the hood and fired 15 rounds through the windshield after the car had stopped and the two suspects, driver Timothy Russell, 43, and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, no longer posed a threat, prosecutors have said.

Brelo fired 49 rounds that night, which meant he had to reload twice. Autopsies showed that Russell and Williams were each shot more than 20 times.

Brelo's attorneys did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.


Prosecutors argued in their Monday motion that most of the officers have been engaged in a "scheme" to protect Brelo and that their police union continues to "impede and hinder the criminal investigation and prosecution against their fellow union member."
Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the prosecutors' claim is "ridiculous."

"The facts will show we've done nothing but cooperate with this investigation," Loomis said. "It's time for (Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J.) McGinty to stop showboating and put his case on."

The motion said that officers who saw Brelo jump on the hood of Russell's car did not tell that to investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It was only later, after numerous interviews, that an officer mentioned Brelo's actions that night, the motion said.

On Sunday, Judge John P. O'Donnell denied a motion filed by Brelo's attorneys to dismiss the charges after they claimed prosecutors used protected statements in the grand jury that indicted him. O'Donnell also denied a motion asking to dismiss the charges because his job as a police officer provides immunity from prosecution.

http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutors-po...151802133.html

[ChristianAnarchist]

Goons gonna goon...

[Weston White]

prosecutors used protected statements ... his job as a police officer provides immunity from prosecution.

[presence]

their police union continues to
impede and hinder
the criminal investigation and prosecution
against their fellow union member

[Suzanimal]

Cleveland police officer refuses to testify during trial of fellow officer Michael Brelo

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The otherwise low-key trial of Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo saw some drama Wednesday, the third day of testimony, when a fellow police officer refused to testify.

Prosecutors got through just a couple basic questions about the identity and work history of Cleveland police officer Michael Demchak before Demchak invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on the witness stand.

According to a report from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Demchak was one of 13 officers that fired their guns one night in November 2012, when two unarmed suspects were killed. Investigators concluded Demchak fired his gun four times.

Brelo, 31, is on trial on two counts of manslaughter in the case of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were shot to death by police in a 1979 Chevy Malibu. Russell, the driver, had evaded police during a 22-minute car chase through Cleveland and East Cleveland on Nov. 29, 2012.

Demchak told the court he invoked his right based on the advice of his attorney and would not testify unless he is granted immunity by the prosecutor's office.

Prosecutors had filed motions before the start of the trial opposing police officers who may invoke the Fifth Amendment. And they were quick to voice their opposition in court as well.

"We don't believe police officers should be granted immunity for testifying," assistant prosecuting attorney Adam Chaloupka told the court. Chaloupka said police officers should trust the Prosecutor's Office to not to charge them for testimony given during the trial.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty, who has been present but silent at the proceedings until Wednesday, told the court that as a matter of public policy police officers should be required to testify without being able to demand immunity.

"It won't end with this," McGinty told the court. "I am reluctant to start doing it here and now for fear of the future result."

McGinty also told the court that police officers knew one of their fellow officers did something wrong that night, but refused to come forward with that information to investigators.

Prosecutors have granted immunity to two police officers in the case thus far. Officers Brian Sabolik, who was the first to say he saw Brelo stand on the hood of the victims' car and fire straight down, and his partner Michael Farley have been granted immunity.

But Judge John P. O'Donnell decided police officers have the same right against self-incrimination as any other citizen.

"You're asking a witness to rely on your word that you won't charge him, but that's just not the standard," O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell said Demchak may be called back to testify later in the trial.

The courtroom commotion got a reaction out of the defendant, who has been sitting stone-faced throughout. As prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge argued about the Fifth Amendment, Brelo smiled slightly and shook his head.

Two other police officers, Wilfredo Diaz and Erin O'Donnell, are expected to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.

A spokesman for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson declined a request Friday for comment on the officer refusing to testify.

...

http://www.cleveland.com/court-justi...cer_refus.html

[Anti Federalist]

Good cops...

[Cleaner44]

As public employees, I think their options should be to testify or be terminated from employment.