It’s become a trend in cases involving police shootings: While the individual officer is let off the hook for using lethal force and sparking protests in the community, the Department of Justice usually finds something wrong with the larger department. Cleveland has reached a settlement with the DOJ after the agency accused the city’s finest of engaging in patterns of “unreasonable and unnecessary use of force,” including tasing and punching handcuffed suspects. The investigation was launched after a 2012 car chase involving 100 police officers ended with officer Michael Brelo standing on the roof of the Chevy Malibu used to flee from the police and firing 15 times into the vehicle. On Saturday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell found Brelo not guilty of killing the two suspects because it was not clear if it was Brelo’s rounds that killed them. When issuing his verdict, O'Donnell said, “Guilty or not guilty, the verdict should be no cause for a civilized society to celebrate or riot.” Still, on Saturday night, some protestors grew violent and 71 were arrested. It just goes to show that improvements still need to be made before we can have a civilized society. More…

Update: The Washington Post has details of the settlement here.