Protesters Arrested Unlawfully During Brelo Acquittal Protest Settle Case against City of Cleveland
On May 23, 2015, Cleveland police arrested over 70 people who protested the acquittal of Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo, who fired 49 of the 137 shots that killed Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in November 2012. In 2017, five protesters and an NLG Legal Observer who were arrested in the group filed a civil rights suit against the City of Cleveland for the unlawful arrests and detentions. The City settled their cases in 2017 for $50,000.
Background
A group of protesters and one National Lawyers Guild Legal Observer filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Cleveland in May 2017, on the two-year anniversary of protests erupting across the city of Cleveland in outrage at the acquittal of Michael Brelo.
On May 23, 2015, peaceful protests lasted all day. Hundreds of Clevelanders marched across the city, including people from all walks of life who had expected justice for Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were unarmed when they were shot and killed by Cleveland police officers, including Michael Brelo, who fired 49 of the 137 shots. Peaceful protests began in the morning at the Justice Center, and continued throughout the day, across the city, at several locations.
But as night fell, the City of Cleveland chose to stop the protests, interfering with demonstrators’ constitutional rights. Cleveland police began arresting protesters an in effort rid the streets of dissent. At East 4th Street, a handful of protesters were arrested without warning. Cleveland police then effected a mass arrest of almost 70 people after trapping them in an alley. Protesters were blocked into Johnson Court by armed, riot gear-clad police officers who closed in on the protesters from both sides of the alley. Officers aggressively advanced in lines, shoulder-to-shoulder, preventing protesters from leaving.
These protesters had committed no crime. Yet they were arrested, and then hauled off to jail for the next 36 hours, and held in filthy conditions, including contaminated drinking water and bed bugs. Despite the readiness of the courts to quickly process and release the protesters, the Cleveland Division of Police intentionally held them for longer than necessary to prevent them from returning to the streets to protest.
Several of the protesters successfully fought their charges with assistance of local defense attorneys associated with the Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the NAACP. Jordan Workman, Jessica Barnes, Jasmine Bruce, Dominique Knox, Eric Maxwell, Tommie Pratt, and Tanis Quach filed suit against the City of Cleveland, Mayor Frank Jackson, and Chief of Police Calvin Williams in 2017 to demand justice and accountability.
Approach & Resolution
In May 2017, Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of protesters and one NLG Legal Observer who were arrested during these events. The civil rights lawsuit sought accountability from the City for this unlawful attack on free speech. In August 2017, the City of Cleveland settled the case for $50,000. The settlement agreement was finalized in October 2017.
“CDP engaged in egregious violations of constitutional rights, undermining the freedom of speech and assembly that are foundational to our democracy,” said Jacqueline Greene, one of the attorneys for the protesters and NLG Legal Observer. “The City cannot quiet dissent with bogus arrests and prosecutions. In the current political climate, with increased government antagonism toward peaceful protest, it is critical that we protect free speech,” stated Greene.