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CLEVELAND - Five Cleveland police supervisors pleaded the Fifth during CPD patrol officer Michael Brelo's trial Monday.

The supervisors each face two counts of dereliction of duty related to the Nov. 29, 2012 Cleveland police chase and shooting.

Attorneys for Sgt. Michael Donegan, Lt. Paul Wilson, Sgt. Randolph Daley, Sgt. Jason Edens and Sgt. Patricia Coleman appeared with their clients in court.

A sixth Cleveland police officer invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after taking the stand at the trial last Wednesday.

Officer Michael Demchake immediately stated he was told not to answer questions based on advice from his attorneys.

His refusal to answer questions sparked an angry outburst by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty.

"We need his testimony in this trial. We're asking for his testimony. We're asking for the truth. That is his duty as a police officer," said McGinty.

McGinty said Brelo's colleagues knew he was "in trouble" for jumping on the hood of Timothy Russell's Chevy Malibu and firing at least 15 shots through the windshield at the conclusion of the November 2012 CPD chase and shooting.

View a PHOTO GALLERY of some of the crime scene photos here

During opening statements last Monday , prosecutors said Brelo committed a crime when he jumped onto the hood of Russell's car and fired 15 to 18 shots through the front windshield.

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CPD officers plead the fifth

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Five more police supervisors invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Monday in the trial of Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo.

The five supervisors have been charged with dereliction of duty in connection with the same Nov. 29, 2012 police chase and fatal shootings that resulted in Brelo being charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Michael Donegan, Patricia Coleman, Randolph Dailey, Jason Edens and Paul Wilson have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a date for their trial has not been set yet.

Brelo, 31, is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in thedeaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. Russell drove the Chevy Malibu that led police on the chase. Williams was a passenger in the car.

The supervisors appeared in court on Monday, but none took the witness stand. Instead, they pleaded the Fifth as a group, with their lawyers present. There was no discussion of their right to plead the Fifth, as there was last week, when Officer Michael Demchak invoked his Fifth Amendment right.

The rest of the morningfocused on a Bratenahl police officer and a Cleveland police officer, both of whom were involved in the chase but not the shooting.

Here are highlights from the morning's testimony.

1. A Bratenahl police officer suspected crossfire.

Bratenahl Sgt. Michael Flanagan, a K-9 officer, testified to joining the chase and stopping at Lee Boulevard, perpendicular to the driveway that Russell's 1979 Malibu was stopped in.

Flanagan said he got out of his car, heard shots fired, and ran to take cover behind a nearby gray Ford.

Original post:
Five police supervisors plead the Fifth in the trial of Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo

By Ryan Mavity | Apr 13, 2015

Dover A Delaware Superior Court judge is expected to rule within 90 days on a motion for summary judgment in a civil sexual-assault case against former Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips.

Phillips did not appear at the April 13 hearing in Dover. In previous depositions Phillips has consistently invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

Brian Brittingham, attorney for Phillips accuser, Katelynn Dunlap, said Phillips silence is telling, as he has not refuted accusations that Phillips sexually assaulted Dunlap 10 times in different locations starting May 9, 2011, and continuing through July.

According to Dunlaps lawsuit, the relationship between the now 21-year-old Lincoln woman and the then-Sussex councilman began in 2010 when Dunlap was 16. When Dunlap turned 18 in April 2011, Phillips was 48; the lawsuit says at that point, the relationship took a sexual turn. On May 9, the lawsuit said, Dunlap met Phillips in the parking lot of a Georgetown dental office, where Dunlap alleges Phillips tried to have sex with her and then threatened her if she told anyone.

Despite ample opportunity, the defendant wholly failed to address the claims at issue, Brittingham said. He said Phillips has consistently invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid addressing Dunlaps allegations. He also invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions not related to the allegations, such as when Phillips and his wife divorced.

Defense attorney Kurt Heyman said the court could not infer guilt from Phillips decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. He said Dunlap has made inconsistent statements and has changed her story numerous times.Heyman said at one point, Dunlap said some of the encounters with Phillips were consensual, but she later changed her story to say she was sexually assaulted.

Brittingham said Dunlaps inconsistencies are explained by the fact that she was fearful, confused, shamed and intimidated by Phillips. He said Dunlap was scared of retaliation by Phillips and had an emotional breakdown.

While Heyman said the case hinges on Dunlaps credibility, Brittingham said third parties, including family and Delaware State Police officers, support Dunlaps credibility. Brittingham said a reasonable jury would find Dunlaps claims to be true and award her damages.

The April 13 arguments were a subdued affair, with only Dunlaps family attending the proceedings. Dunlap is seeking punitive damages and legal fees. Judge William Witham offered no timetable for when he would rule on the motion, but Heyman said he would have 90 days to make a ruling. If Witham does not grant the motion, the case would head to trial.

Read more from the original source:
Phillips declines to face his accuser

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Attorneys for a young woman who claims in a lawsuit that she was sexually abused by former Republican Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips asked a Superior Court judge on Monday to find Phillips liable because he has not explicitly denied the allegations.

Citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Phillips has refused to address the allegations by the 21-year-old woman, who was once his political protegee, even though he has previously said that he looked forward to telling his side of the story to a jury.

The Associated Press does not normally identify possible victims of sexual assault.

The woman's lawyers argued that the judge should grant partial summary judgment in her favor regarding liability because Phillips has not disputed the allegations.

"The defendant wholly failed to address the claims at issue," attorney Brian Brittingham told Judge William Witham Jr.

Brittingham said Phillips' decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment does not amount to a denial or a defense, but was simply "the avoidance of an answer."

After a brief hearing, Witham gave no indication on when he would rule.

Delaware State Police investigated Phillips in 2012 after members of the General Assembly received an anonymous letter claiming he was involved in a relationship with an underage girl. No criminal charges were ever filed, but Phillips invoked his rights against self-incrimination in the civil action after the lawsuit was filed in May 2013.

Kurt Heyman, a lawyer for Phillips, told Witham the court cannot infer his liability based on the assertion of his Fifth Amendment rights, especially on a motion for summary judgment. He also said inconsistent and contradictory statements the woman has made about her relationship with Phillips and the allegations of abuse preclude summary judgment in her favor, and that a jury must determine whether she is believable.

"It's for the jury to decide which version of her story to credit," he said.

Continue reading here:
Judge Weighs Sex Allegations Against Former Sussex Official

Part II: Defenses and Privileges: The Fifth Amendment Privilege Testimony
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By: Michael DeBlis

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Part II: Defenses and Privileges: The Fifth Amendment Privilege & Testimony - Video