CLEVELAND — Cleveland emerged unscathed and intact after a day of protests following the acquittal of a patrolman who had been on trial in the shooting deaths of two unarmed suspects killed in a 137-shot barrage of police gunfire.
Officers arrested 71 people the night after the verdict, though there was nothing close to the violence other cities have experienced over the treatment of black suspects.
On Sunday, Mayor Frank Jackson thanked the vast majority of protesters who remained peaceful and respectful as they voiced their frustration with the verdict.
But Cleveland is not yet done dealing with the deadly police encounters. Two other high-profile police-involved deaths hang over the city: a boy holding a pellet gun fatally shot by a rookie patrolman, and a mentally ill woman in distress who died after officers took her to the ground and handcuffed her.
The deaths of 12-year-old Tamir Rice and 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson occurred eight days apart in November. An investigation by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department into Tamir’s death is nearly finished and ready to be given to county prosecutors.
The status of the investigation into Anderson’s death is unclear.
