Where is Michael Brelo now? He reportedly works as a parking supervisor

In late November 2012, Cleveland police officers shot 137 into a car ferrying Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, killing both Black men. The shootings followed a brief car chase, which started after a squad car reported shooting from inside the victims’ Chevrolet Malibu. It later turned out that the sound the police heard was the vehicle backfiring.

Michael Brelo fired 49 of the shots. He fired 15 of them at close range after jumping onto the hood of the Malibu. He faced two counts of voluntary manslaughter, but a judge acquitted him in part because the prosecution couldn’t prove who fired the fatal shots. Brelo was the only officer who faced criminal charges connected to the shootings. 

Michael Brelo avoided jail, but his career as a police officer ended. Years after the fatal shootings, the city fired Brelo and five other officers involved in the shootings. 

It was a hollow victory for the angry residents of Ohio, who’d long protested police brutality in the state. 

However, a year after the terminations, an arbitrator reinstated five of the six fired officers. The arbitrator stated that the five officers would rejoin the force without back pay. He justified the reinstatement by referencing the officers’ conduct before the fatal shootings. 

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson disagreed with the arbitrator’s decision to reinstate the five officers. He released a statement, saying:

“We believe that the City’s decision to terminate the other five officers was justified and should have been upheld. We acknowledge that the arbitrator concluded that those officers committed serious policy violations; however, we are reviewing our options regarding the officers whose terminations were not upheld.”

Mayor Jackson agreed with the decision to uphold Michael Brelo’s termination and the lengthy suspensions of five other officers. 

Arbitrator William Heekin acknowledged Brelo’s reckless actions and their ‘egregious’ nature. Heekin stated that Michael failed to justify his decision to fire 15-18 bullets at close range. Heekin wrote:

“Accordingly and upon finding that this clearly constituted an excessive use of deadly force, the contention of the City that it amounted to egregious misconduct where as a result the City no longer has trust and confidence in his ability to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a police officer is accepted.”

Michael Brelo currently resides in Bay Village, Ohio. He reportedly works as a parking supervisor.