Trending Topics

Judge finds man incompetent to stand trial in fatal shooting of Cleveland police officer

The man is accused of killing Officer Jamieson Ritter as he and other Cleveland officers attempted to arrest him on a felonious assault warrant

Officer Jamieson Ritter

Cleveland Police Department

Associated Press

CLEVELAND — A man charged in the fatal shooting of a Cleveland police officer has been found incompetent to stand trial.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Ashley Kilbane issued the ruling Monday. She said De’Lawnte Hardy, 25, of Cleveland, will be hospitalized indefinitely and could eventually stand trial if he improves. Hardy remains jailed on $10 million bail.

Hardy killed Jamieson Ritter on July 4 as he and other Cleveland officers attempted to arrest him on a felonious assault warrant, authorities have said. The charge stemmed from a shooting days earlier that wounded Hardy’s 63-year-old grandmother, who was shot in the head and later died from her injuries.

After a standoff with police at a Cleveland home, Hardy tried to flee on a bicycle and fired four shots at the officers, authorities have said. Ritter, a four-year veteran of the force, was struck by one shot and died a short time later at a hospital.

Trending
The Trump administration signaled DOJ attorneys will argue the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which states that federal laws override state and local laws
Portland Police K-9 Kylo had brought the homicide suspect to the ground before he pointed a gun at officers; officers fired shots, killing the man and gravely injuring Kylo
Body camera footage shows the man firing at officers, an air unit, bystanders and structures for about an hour before two SWAT officers shot him
A joint policy framework from CPCA, PORAC and CSSA calls for annual certification, DOJ audits and a criminal offense for ALPR misuse