Cleveland mayor’s great-grandson accused of shooting at police officers
The 17-year-old great-grandson of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson was arrested on suspicion of shooting at Cleveland police officers, according to court documents.
The teen and a 16-yearold boy were charged Friday with felonious assault, discharging a firearm, improperly handling a gun in a car and criminal damaging.
Both teens are being held in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center until a July 29 pretrial.
Jackson’s great-grandson and another teen fired shots at the officers about 11:50 p.m. on East 86th Street near Quincy Avenue, according to police. Officers spotted duo in a car about three miles south on East 93rd Street and Harvard Avenue, according to police.
One of the teens was arrested during the stop, police said. The passenger got out of the car and ran. Officers caught up to him and arrested him, according to police.
Officers reported finding a gun inside the car. Cleveland police have not released any other information on the incident.
No police officer was hit by gunfire.
Jackson’s spokesman, Dan Williams, said he would try to reach the mayor for comment but never returned the call.
The great-grandson was previously arrested on burglary and gun possession charges in 2017.
Jackson’s tenure as mayor has included a push to curb gun violence in the city. In 2014 he launched an attempt at sweeping gun regulation, including requiring anyone convicted of a gun crime to register with the city, similar to the sex-offender registry, and a law that would have prohibited leaving a gun where it could be accessed by someone under 18.
Those attempts were ruled unconstitutional by an appeals court in 2017. The appeals court, however, allowed two laws to remain: one that restricted the selling of guns to anyone who is intoxicated and another that prohibited giving guns to minors.
In 2017, Jackson announced plans for a multi-million approach at treating violence holistically and as a public-health issue.
The plans included partnerships between government, nonprofits and private-sector entities to address underlying social issues that often lead to violence in Cleveland.