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Off-Duty Cleveland Police Officer Fatally Shot in Carjacking

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A Cleveland police officer was shot twice in the chest while fighting back during a carjacking, and one person was arrested following a chase involving the slain officer’s car.

January 01, 2022 – By Adam Ferrise – Source cleveland.com

CLEVELAND—Authorities have arrested two people linked to the slaying of an off-duty Cleveland police officer, who was shot during an apparent carjacking Friday night, according to four law enforcement sources.

An 18-year-old woman from Garfield Heights is being held on suspicion of aggravated murder, while a 28-year-old man from Bedford Heights is being held on allegations of receiving stolen property. No charges have been filed in the case.

Authorities have not released the name of the officer. Attempts to reach police and city officials Saturday morning were unsuccessful.

The shooting took place about 7 p.m. on Rocky River Drive, near Fairway Avenue, in the city’s Kamm’s Corners neighborhood on the West Side.

The off-duty officer was shot twice as he attempted to fight off the attack, sources said. He was taken to Fairview Hospital, where he died. The officer was hired in 2019 and worked as a patrolman in the Fifth District, which makes up the northeast corner of the city.

Following the shooting, the 28-year-old man led officers from several departments on a chase that ended in Euclid, at East 260th Street and Lakeshore Boulevard. He had been driving the officer’s car.

The male driver has been convicted seven times in the past four years of theft-related offenses involving cars, according to interviews and Cuyahoga County court records. The woman has been under investigation in past robberies.

Their names will be released once they are charged.

Wayne Drummond, the interim police chief as Mayor-Elect Justin Bibb takes office on Monday, told reporters late Friday that “my heart is aching for his family, for our officers. It’s senseless. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Bibb, speaking with reporters, asked Cleveland residents to pray for the officer’s family.

The shooting came days after a 27-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint on Christmas near the place where the off-duty officer was shot and killed, according to city records.

It’s the first fatal shooting of a Cleveland police officer since the Sept. 3, 2020, slaying of Detective James Skernivitz, who was shot and killed during an undercover drug investigation. A police informant, Scott Dingess, was also killed in the shooting.

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