A Democratic US representative has denounced the acquittal of a white police officer in the 2012 shooting deaths of an unarmed black couple, describing the move as a “setback on the road to justice.” 

An Ohio judge announced on Saturday that the decision to use deadly force by Officer Michael Brelo, 31, was reasonably justifiable in the deaths of 43-year-old Timothy Russell and 30-year-old Malissa Williams in November 2012.

“The decision of Judge John P. O’Donnell to acquit Officer Michael Brelo is a stunning setback on the road to justice for Timothy Russell, Malissa Williams and the people of Cleveland,” Representative Marcia Fudge, whose district includes part of Cleveland, said in a statement on Sunday.

“Today we have been told – yet again – our lives have no value,” she stated.

She said, “The verdict is another chilling reminder of a broken relationship between the Cleveland Police Department and the community it serves.”

The verdict sparked protests that stretched into Saturday night. Police said on Sunday that at least 71 people were arrested during protests late on Saturday.

“The decision may not be what we want but our march for justice continues,” said Fudge.

“We still have a long way to go toward racial equality and justice in Ohio, and in the entire United States of America,” she added.

Large-scale demonstrations were held across the US after a series of high-profile incidents of white police officers killing unarmed African-American men, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York and Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The recent unrest in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray was the most violent in the United States since the protests in Ferguson following the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Brown by a white police officer.

SB/AGB