Over 70 Arrested in Ohio After Clashes Over US Police Officer Acquittal

Cleveland police arrested 71 people during a day of protests after a white police officer was cleared of all charges despite firing 49 shots at a vehicle during a police chase and shooting that killed two people.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Cleveland police detained 71 people during a day of protests on Saturday after a white police officer was acquitted of killing an unarmed black pair in November 2012, local media reported Sunday.

"We only moved in to make arrests when things got violent and protesters refused to disperse," police chief Calvin Williams said as quoted by the Northeast Ohio Media Group's website.

Arrests in Cleveland as people protest the acquittal of police officer Michael Brelo http://t.co/lMQrFYx000 pic.twitter.com/4JvmqoNmxG

— The Independent (@Independent) May 24, 2015

Cleveland protests over police officer Michael Brelo acquittal leads to 71 arrests http://t.co/OP97YU6k4Z pic.twitter.com/97ViD4FPHQ

— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 24, 2015

The protests broke out shortly after Michael Brelo was cleared of all charges despite firing 49 shots at a vehicle during a police chase and shooting that killed both occupants.

Brelo, 31, was one of more than 100 police officers participating in the chase, and one of 13 who shot at the car.

The shooting marks yet another case of police brutality in the United States, which became a nationwide concern after weeks of mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri last year.

The Ferguson civil unrest broke out in the wake of the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by white police officer Darren Wilson, who was not indicted on charges connected to Brown's death.