WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The status of police officer does not provide acquitted Cleveland officer Michael Brelo extra rights to assault innocent people, US advocacy group Greater Cleveland Cop Block founder Deo Odolecki told Sputnik.
“Badges should not grant extra rights, and it’s clear proof that this Brelo criminal thinks his badge does grant him extra rights,” Odolecki said on Thursday.
Michael Brelo, 31, and his brother Mark, were charged with a misdemeanor assault after they fought at the Bay Village facility in Cleveland on May 27, 2015, during which time they knocked down several doors at the facility.
Brelo fired his gun 49 times at the vehicle, killing both occupants. He was one of more than 100 police officers that participated in the police chase, and one of 13 who shot at the car.
Odolecki said Brelo’s future at the Cleveland Police Department (CPD) depends on whether the US Department of Justice will do its job to properly investigate Brelo.
“I find it hard to trust when one criminal organization [Justice Department] says they are going to investigate the brother criminal organization [CPD],” Odolecki said. “If I was the Cleveland police, I would shun him like crazy.”
Odolecki also stated the police union in Cleveland is certain to ensure Brelo keeps his job even if the CPD does not want him on the force unless he breaks “one of the big rules of theirs.”
Greater Cleveland Cop Block is a decentralized US advocacy group focused on police accountability, according to the group’s website.
