Author: Holly Yan

(CNN) — How can a police officer fire 15 shots into a car with two unarmed people inside and then get acquitted after their deaths?

That’s exactly what happened when a judge announced Saturday that Cleveland police Officer Michael Brelo was not guilty of voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.

After Russell led police on a 22-mile chase, about a dozen officers fired 137 bullets into his car. None of the other officers was charged with manslaughter.

The reaction to Brelo’s acquittal has been loud but relatively peaceful — at least compared to the violence that wracked Ferguson, Missouri, last November when Officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for the death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown.

To understand how we got here — and what’s next for Cleveland — here’s what you need to know:

What led up to the shooting?

It started the night of November 29, 2012, when a couple in a car sped away from an undercover officer.

Their engine backfired, sputtering and producing a loud bang in the tailpipe. Prosecutors said officers mistook the noise for gunshots, and a high-speed chase ensued.

Investigators said as many as 62 police cars joined the pursuit at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour through the streets of Cleveland.

After a 22-mile chase, Russell rammed a police car in a middle school parking lot, police said.

That’s when the bullets started flying.

An investigation revealed 13 police officers fired more than more than 100 times in eight seconds. But only one officer, Michael Brelo, was charged with two counts of voluntarily manslaughter.

What exactly did Brelo do?

The 31-year-old officer got out of his police car, climbed atop the hood of Russell’s car and “fired at least 15 shots … downward through the windshield into the victims at close range as he stood on the hood of Mr. Russell’s car,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGlinty said.

Brelo told investigators he thought he and his partner were in danger, believing the couple in the car were shooting.

“I’ve never been so afraid in my life,” the former Marine told investigators. “I thought my partner and I would be shot and that we were going to be killed, at which point I drew my weapon and I shot through the windshield at the suspects.”

Why did the judge decide to acquit?

The decision was reached not by a jury, but by Cuyahoga County Judge John P. O’Donnell alone. He gave several reasons for his verdict:

• The officers’ first round of gunfire was permissible because they had reason to believe they and the public were at risk.
• Brelo’s second round was permissible because a reasonable police officer could decide that, even after the 100 shots, the threat might not have been over in part because the pair might still have been moving.
• While evidence showed Brelo’s gunfire caused at least one wound each to Russell and Williams that would have killed either of them, the pair also suffered other lethal wounds, probably from other officers’ guns.
• Since evidence doesn’t prove Brelo’s shots were the ones that killed the pair, he can’t be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
• Brelo is also not guilty of the lesser charge of felonious assault because it wasn’t necessarily clear the threat was over.

What happened after the verdict?

Outside the courthouse, a chorus of protesters chanted a now common refrain: “No justice, no peace.” Some wore shirts that read, “Black lives matter.”

Both slogans have echoed across the country after several recent deaths of black men by police: Michael Brown in Ferguson. Eric Garner in New York. Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina.

While most of the protesters were peaceful, at least 71 people were arrested over the weekend for offenses including felonious assault, aggravated rioting, unlawful congregation and failure to disperse, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said.

Dozens of people blocked a Cleveland highway in protest.

But both the mayor and Ohio’s governor praised the majority of protesters who demonstrated peacefully.

“They should be so proud of themselves, and we should look at Cleveland as a model,” Ohio Gov. John Kasich told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

What did the families say?

“All I know is that I don’t trust police no more. No police. None,” Malissa Williams’ brother Alfredo Williams said. “I can’t recover from this. …This verdict isn’t real. This verdict is fake.”

Relatives of Russell and Williams had harsh words for police and the court system.

“We were expecting him to be convicted of at least one of the charges,” Jackie Russell, sister-in-law of Timothy Russell, told CNN on Saturday. “We feel as though basically the judge gave him a pat on the back and said good job for shooting those people.”

Is there a curfew in Cleveland?

No. Unlike Ferguson and Baltimore, where violence has resulted in curfews, Cleveland’s mayor said residents and visitors should carry on normally without worrying about the protests.

“If they cross the line, we will deal with them accordingly, Mayor Frank Jackson said.

“Citizens should not be concerned about that, and they should come downtown and enjoy themselves.”

Does Cleveland have a history of excessive force?

The Department of Justice says yes. Federal investigators said police in Cleveland have been using unnecessary and unreasonable force at a “significant rate,” employing “dangerous tactics” that put the community at risk, according to a DOJ report released last year.

The nearly two-year Justice Department investigation found that Cleveland police use guns, Tasers, pepper spray and their fists excessively, unnecessarily or in retaliation.

Officers also have used excessive force on those “who are mentally ill or in crisis,” the Justice Department said.

Why did the couple speed away?

Russell and Williams were both homeless with a history of mental illness and drug use, according to Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Witnesses said they were most likely looking to buy drugs that night. A police officer ran a license plate check of the 1979 Chevy Malibu that Russell was driving. He had gotten it from a relative, and the check came back clean.

Still, the officer tried to pull him over for a turn signal violation. Russell then sped away.

What’s next for the pair’s families?

The city settled with both families, and each will receive more than $865,000, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported last year. The total settlement amount is $1.5 million for each family, with lawyers receiving 40% of the money. Cleveland said it settled to avoid a drawn-out legal case, but “the settlement is not an acknowledgment of liability.”

What about Tamir Rice?

Officer Brelo’s acquittal isn’t the only police-involved incident stirring unrest in the city. Protesters are also demanding justice after the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Cleveland police.

Tamir was holding a pellet gun when he was killed.

About 200 people carried a coffin from a park to the home of prosecutor Timothy McGinty, CNN affiliate WEWS said.

No charges have been filed in that killing, though Cuyahoga County Sheriff Clifford Pinkney recently said the investigation is almost finished.

What’s next for Cleveland?

The city and the Department of Justice will announce how they are moving forward with changes to Cleveland’s police force after last year’s scathing DOJ report, law enforcement officials said.

In December, when then-Attorney General Eric Holder announced the report, the city’s mayor and police chief said they agreed that recommend changes should be implemented. The agreement required the city to create a reform plan.

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Ralph Ellis, Greg Botelho, Evan Perez, Martin Savidge, Catherine E. Shoichet and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

(CNN) — She was the first person to ever contract Ebola in the United States, and now she’s going to suing the hospital where she got infected.

Nina Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, will file a lawsuit Monday against the hospital’s parent company Texas Health Resources, her lawyer told CNN affiliate KTVT.

According to the suit, the hospital chain failed to provide proper equipment and training to handle Ebola. Pham contracted the disease last fall while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who started showing symptoms after arriving in Dallas from Liberia.

Pham’s lawsuit also claims Texas Health Resources violated her privacy by sharing her medial records, KTVT said.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Pham wants unspecified damages for physical pain, mental anguish, medical expenses and loss of future earnings. But she told the newspaper that she wants to “make hospitals and big corporations realize that nurses and health care workers, especially frontline people, are important. And we don’t want nurses to start turning into patients.”

Texas Health Resources spokesman Wendell Watson issued a statement in response to the planned lawsuit:

“Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Dallas during a most difficult time. We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter.”

Another nurse treating Duncan, Amber Vinson, also contracted Ebola. Both nurses recovered after being sent to hospitals specially equipped and trained to handle Ebola — Pham at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, and Vinson at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Pham is still employed and is getting a paycheck from Texas Health Resources, but has not returned to work, KTVT said. She is still suffering fatigue and body aches, but her lawyer told the affiliate it’s not clear whether the ailments are from having Ebola or from the experimental drugs Pham received.

The-CNN-Wire

CNN — After all the comparisons to George Zimmerman, Michael Dunn’s fate turned out very differently.

Dunn, who also killed a black 17-year-old and said he did it in self defense, now faces decades in prison after he shot into an SUV full of teenagers during a spat over loud music.

But this story is far from over. The prosecution wants another conviction. Dunn could appeal the convictions he already has. And once again, the country is at odds about whether racial profiling led to a young man’s death.

Both sides to keep fighting

After 30 hours of deliberation, a Florida jury on Saturday found Dunn guilty of three counts of attempted murder as well as for shooting into the teens’ vehicle. But jurors didn’t convict him of murder for the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

State Attorney Angela Corey said prosecutors will seek a new trial in Duval County on the murder charge.

“Justice for Jordan Davis is as important as it is for any victim,” said Corey, whose office also prosecuted Zimmerman for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was eventually acquitted.

Even without a murder conviction, Dunn faces a lengthy prison term. Each attempted second-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 20 years. There’s also a possible 15-year sentence for the conviction shooting in the teenager’s vehicle.

“You are looking at basically at life in prison,” Dunn’s attorney Cory Strolla said. “At 47 years old, that’s a life sentence regardless of count one.”

Strolla said he would challenge the convictions and would consider asking for a change of venue.

“For the retrial, I almost think we would have to,” the attorney said. But again, I may not be the counsel at that point. We are a long ways away from that.”

Analysts disagree

Criminal defense attorney Carrie Hackett, who was not involved in Dunn’s case, said she thinks the case may have been another example of overcharging.

“I think that there is an issue of overcharging because there’s always a question when you bring a charge that involves intent,” she told “CNN Newsroom” on Sunday. “And in this first-degree murder charge, it’s premeditation. When a jury has to look at — did somebody plan? Was this strategic? Did they communicate this plan to somebody else? That’s a situation where a jury could very easily get hung up on deciding, what was the person’s intention?”

But another attorney, Mo Ivory, said she didn’t think Dunn nor Zimmerman were overcharged.

“What I do think is that the prosecution failed to give the jurors what they needed to know about that very intent,” Ivory said, such as Davis’ character and aspirations.

Ten bullets over music

On November 23, 2012, Michael Dunn pulled into a gas station in Jacksonville and parked next to a red Dodge Durango full of teenagers.

Dunn didn’t like the loud music — “rap crap,” as he called it — coming from the teens’ SUV. So he asked them to turn it down.

What followed next depends on whom you believe. Dunn claimed Davis threatened him, and he took matters into his own hands after seeing what he thought was the barrel of a gun sticking out of the Durango.

But prosecutors said Dunn lost control, firing three volleys of shots — 10 bullets total — at the SUV over music he didn’t like.

The prosecution also challenged what Dunn did next: He left the gas station and drove 40 miles away to a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine. There, he walked his dog, ordered a pizza, then drank rum and cola.

After learning almost six hours later that he had killed Davis, Dunn testified that he became “crazy with grief,” experiencing stomach problems for about four hours before taking a nap.

“My intent was to stop the attack, not necessarily end a life,” he testified. “It just worked out that way.”

No gun found

Yet his fiancee, Rhonda Rouer, testified that Dunn had never mentioned any weapon to her — be it a shotgun, a stick, a barrel or a lead pipe — unlike what Dunn had said.

In fact, police found a basketball, basketball shoes, clothing, a camera tripod and cups inside the teenagers’ Durango, but no gun.

And Dunn himself never called police. The first contacts he had with them were at his home in Satellite Beach — 130 miles south of St. Augustine — as he was being apprehended.

Arguing that he wasn’t in a rational state of mind, Dunn admitted, “It makes sense that I should have (contacted authorities). We didn’t. I can’t tell you why.”

‘A little bit of closure’

The lack of a murder conviction led protesters to march outside the Jacksonville courthouse calling for Corey to lose her job.

But Davis’ mother, Lucia McBath, didn’t express any anger when she spoke to reporters Saturday night. She said her family is “so very happy to have just a little bit of closure.”

“It’s sad for Mr. Dunn that he will live the rest of his life in that sense of torment, and I will pray for him,” McBath said. “And I’ve asked my family to pray for him.”

CNN’s Greg Botelho and Sunny Hostin contributed to this report.