Black man, 2 Black teens charged in shooting death of Cleveland police officer James Skernivitz as tensions between police and the Black community continue to mount....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio
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| Cleveland Police Detective James Skernivitz and David McDaniel |
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Black man and two Black juveniles have been charged in the shooting death of Cleveland police officer James Skernivitz and a 50-year-old drug informant sitting in the officer's unmarked car when both were gunned down on Sept 3 on the city's largely White west side.
Both the man and juveniles are currently in custody without bond.
David McDaniel, 18, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and is set to appear in Cleveland Municipal Court Wednesday where his case could be bound over to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for a likely indictment on criminal charges.
The teens, one 15-years-old and the other 17, are charged with two counts of aggravated murder and charges of aggravated robbery and felonious assault, and are set to be arraigned in juvenile court on Tuesday
A cop affidavit in the case says McDaniel and the two teens charged allegedly robbed Skernivitz and the drug informant, Scott Dingess.
Both victims were then shot to death.
Private funeral services for Skernivitz, who was on-duty when he was shot and killed, are Friday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland, followed by a burial.
The shooting incident occurred about 10 pm on West 65th Street near Storer Avenue in Cleveland's Stockyards neighborhood near the Roses Discount Store.
Skernivitz' car crashed into a playground after he was shot.
A 25-year veteran of the police department and an undercover narcotics officer at the time, Skernivitz was rushed to MetroHealth Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He leaves behind a wife and children.
Skernivitz' shooting death comes on the heels of racial unrest nationwide over questionable police killings of unarmed Black people this year, including George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, and Breonna Taylor in March in Louisville.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams and Mayor Frank Jackson, both of them Black, said Skernivitz was a likable, and in good standing, and called for community support for the fallen officer.
Activists have been respectful relative to the officer's death, canceling immediately scheduled Black Lives Matter protests in Cleveland.
Activists have said that when Blacks are erroneously gunned down by police justice for the families of the victims is far reaching, and in stark contrast to high profile killings of police by civilians, a double standard, they say.
Cleveland's celebrated police killings of Blacks in the last decade include 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, Brandon Jones, Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell, and rapper Kenneth Smith.
The largely Black major American city is still recovering from riots that broke out in downtown Cleveland during a May 30 protest for justice for George Floyd, more than 100 people arrested behind the unprecedented riots on charges ranging from resisting arrest to aggravated rioting.
Skernivitz is the second on-duty Cleveland police officer to die in the line of duty since Derek Owens, who was Black, on Feb. 29, 2008.
Owens was shot and killed by Lamidi Kafaru after allegedly witnessing a drug deal and initiating a chase.
Kafaru is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Two other Cleveland police officers were killed in the line of duty in the last 20 years, Jonathan Schroeder in 2006, and Wayne Leon in 2000.
Federal authorities sent in by President Donald Trump as part of his Operation Legend initiative continue to patrol the city, whether visibly or discretely, and purportedly assist authorities with heightened crime during the coronavirus pandemic.
Skernivitz had just been sworn in as an Operation Legend officer.
Meanwhile, community activists continue to demand the defunding of police departments across the country, including in Cleveland.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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