Malissa Williams

Malissa Williams, 30, a Black woman, was killed with Timothy Russell, 43 (see the separate entry for Timothy Russell), on November 29, 2012, when 13 Cleveland police officers fired 137 shots into their car at the end of a roughly 22-mile chase that began after the car backfired near police headquarters. Williams was struck 24 times. Only Officer Michael Brelo was charged with voluntary manslaughter; in May 2015 a judge found him not guilty, saying prosecutors could not prove his shots caused the deaths. Misdemeanor dereliction charges against police supervisors did not produce a conviction in the sources reviewed. No one has been convicted in Williams's death.

Cleveland, OH · Cuyahoga County

• 2012: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The shooting and the prosecutions, per reporting by NPR, the Associated Press (via FOX 11), and WKYC and News 5 Cleveland.
• On November 29, 2012, a pursuit involving 62 police vehicles ended with 13 officers firing 137 shots at the Malibu in which Williams was a passenger; she was hit 24 times and Russell 23 times. AP spelled her first name “Melissa” once; NPR and most reports spell it “Malissa.”
• AP described Williams and Russell as Black and said both were homeless and struggling with mental illness and drug addiction.
• Officer Michael Brelo fired 49 of the shots, 15 from the hood of the car, and was the only officer charged. On May 23, 2015, Judge John P. O'Donnell acquitted him of two counts of voluntary manslaughter, finding the state could not prove his shots, rather than others', caused the deaths.
• Five supervisors were charged with misdemeanor dereliction of duty; Cuyahoga County dropped its case, East Cleveland refiled, and Sgt. Patricia Coleman was found not guilty by an East Cleveland jury in July 2019, per News 5 Cleveland.
• The U.S. Department of Justice found a pattern of excessive force by Cleveland police after an 18-month civil rights investigation.

• Which officers' shots struck Williams fatally was never established in court.
• The outcome for the last supervisor still charged, Sgt. Randolph Dailey, is not stated in the sources reviewed.
• The ages of the victims come from the AP account; NPR's report did not give them.

• NPR — “Cleveland Officer Not Guilty In Fatal Shooting Of Unarmed Suspects”
• Associated Press via FOX 11 — “Ohio patrolman acquitted in 2 deaths amid 137-shot barrage”
• Ideastream — “Judge dismisses charges against 5 Cleveland police supervisors”
• News 5 Cleveland — “Not guilty verdict reached in the 137 shots fired case”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs