--- title: Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way description: America needs a system-wide change in how it does policing canonical: https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/ author: Benjamin Crump article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-28T17:09:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:13.203Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way og:description: America needs a system-wide change in how it does policing og:url: https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ea2910cd8585b6d/69885205524fc02044df2d55/benjamin-crump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4778 og:image:height: 2688 og:image:alt: Benjamin Crump attorney og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way twitter:description: America needs a system-wide change in how it does policing twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ea2910cd8585b6d/69885205524fc02044df2d55/benjamin-crump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=976dba9b-b5e1-42b1-ab3a-c6e71a45def5&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Arrests, Peaceful Protests Follow Michael Brelo Acquittal [Watch (HLS stream): Arrests, Peaceful Protests Follow Michael Brelo Acquittal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lInLPFJf.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2015-05-24. Police made dozens of arrests following the acquittal of a Cleveland police officer in the shooting deaths of two people in 2012._ by [Benjamin Crump](https://time.com/author/benjamin-crump/) ## Benjamin Crump May 28, 2015 5:09 PM UTC  Attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a news conference at Greater St. Mark Church on Nov. 25, 2014, in St. Louis County, Mo. Attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a news conference at Greater St. Mark Church on Nov. 25, 2014, in St. Louis County, Mo. Jeff Roberson—AP by [Benjamin Crump](https://time.com/author/benjamin-crump/) ## Benjamin Crump May 28, 2015 5:09 PM UTC On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had reached an [agreement](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/us/cleveland-police-accept-use-of-force-rules-in-justice-dept-deal.html) with the City of Cleveland over allegations that the city’s police department engaged in a pattern of using excessive force. Just days before, on Saturday, a judge [acquitted](http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/cleveland-police-officer-found-not-guilty-in-fatal-shooting-of-two-people/2015/05/23/280844f0-f028-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9%5Fstory.html) Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo for his role in the 2012 fatal shooting of two unarmed people in a car, both of them black. It’s now been more than 20 years since the enactment of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which gave the Department of Justice the legal authority to investigate state and local law enforcement agencies that it believes have unconstitutional policies or engage in unconstitutional patterns or practices of conduct. It’s been 50 years since the violence of [Bloody Sunday](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/obama-at-selma-ferguson-exceptionalism/387169/). Yet the arc of justice has bent until it is no longer visible to those who have lost their loved ones to such fates. I’m disappointed with the Brelo verdict, but I’m hopeful that those in power can bring change from the systemic unjust that has plagued communities of color for far too long. I applaud the Justice Department’s findings and the efforts of the City of Cleveland to work with the department to bring about change. But I’ve seen this story before, in HD-clarity, and unless there is a strong desire from those in charge to manage the changes that are needed, we will continue to see the uprisings of Ferguson, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit and Cleveland all across the U.S. America needs a system-wide change in how it polices. This issue should not only be discussed when it rears its ugly head in the next city of unrest; there have to be changes in hearts, minds and laws. It should never be acceptable for a 12-year-old child to be gunned down by police while playing on a playground, and subsequently for that child to be [blamed](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/cleveland-apologizes-blam%5Fn%5F6787600.html) for his own death, rather than the negligence of police, who all too often seem to see African Americans as a threat no matter their age. It should no longer be acceptable for police to use questionable emotion as a means to justify killing unarmed and oftentimes innocent citizens, without accountability or charges. Brelo’s [defense](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/cleveland-officer-michael-brelo-found-not-guilty-car-hood-shooting-n363696) used the modus operandi of “fear” to justify a high-speed chase and the more than 130 bullets shot by officers that night. But his actions reek not of fear, but of someone who disregarded his own training and standards of conduct. Our police cannot be judges, juries and executioners of our citizens. Cleveland’s new agreement has many changes and rules that will be put in place, but they must be properly administered and then followed. Otherwise it will amount to nothing more than words on paper, leading to another cycle of ineffectiveness and distrust. Sadly for me, the Cleveland agreement is a hollow victory as we await the ruling on the death of Tamir Rice, and in the wake of the fear and pain that his family continues to deal with from not only his death but from not knowing whether or not those involved will ever be charged for their crimes. As former Attorney General Eric Holder said, “Accountability and legitimacy are essential for communities to trust their police departments, and for there to be genuine collaboration between police and the citizens they serve.” ## Transcript Police made dozens of arrests following a judges acquittal of Cleveland police officer Micheal Brelo on manslaughter charges. The defendant proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he is legally excused from liability for those crimes Because he caused a serious physical harm to the victims in a constitutionally reasonable effort. Sheriff's deputies shielded the Justice Center in Cleveland immediately following the verdict. CNN reports police arrested multiple groups of protestors in the subsequent hours. In total, Cleveland police made 71 arrests, citing unlawful behavior that included aggravated riot. And felonious assault. A day after the arrests, the scene in downtown Cleveland was mostly calm. Vast majority listened to community leaders calls for the demonstration to remain peaceful. It is my expectation that we will show the nation a peaceful demonstration and dialogue is the right direction. As we move forward as one Cleveland. The chase that lead to the deaths of Timothy Russel and Melissa Williams began by mistake. More than 100 Cleveland police officers pursued the two after reports of shots fired from their car. Prosecutors said that sound could've just been the car backfiring because Russel and Williams were unarmed. The chase spanned more than 20 miles and when officers cornered Russell and Williams in a middle school parking lot they began shooting nearly firing 140 rounds. [ NOISE ] Officer Brelo fired 49 of those shots, but Judge O'Donnell said Brelos's action were justified because of the " objectively reasonable perception" of a threat. Brelo was the only officer to face criminal charges because prosecutors claimed he intended to kill Russell and Williams, firing shots directly into their car after other officers stopped shooting. In December former US Attorney General Eric Holder gave a scathing review of the Cleveland Police Department saying they engaged in a pattern of using excessive force in situations when those tactics could have been avoided. Five other officers Officers involved in that 2012 shooting are awaiting trial for dereliction of duty charges. The Department of Justice released a statement saying it will review testimonies and evidence from [ UNKNOWN ] trial to determine if any other legal action should be taken. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/"},"headline":"Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way","datePublished":"2015-05-28T17:09:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:13.203Z","description":"America needs a system-wide change in how it does policing","url":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/","keywords":["Race","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ea2910cd8585b6d/69885205524fc02044df2d55/benjamin-crump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Benjamin Crump","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/benjamin-crump/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ea2910cd8585b6d/69885205524fc02044df2d55/benjamin-crump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Benjamin Crump attorney","caption":"Benjamin Crump attorney","creditText":"Jeff Roberson—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/race/","name":"Race"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/","name":"Tamir Rice Attorney: Cleveland Agreement Needs Will Behind Way"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arrests, Peaceful Protests Follow Michael Brelo Acquittal","description":"Police made dozens of arrests following the acquittal of a Cleveland police officer in the shooting deaths of two people in 2012.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/lInLPFJf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-24T15:51:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lInLPFJf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3899625/cleveland-agreement-michael-brelo/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```