CLEVELAND — De'Lawnte Hardy -- the 24-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed Cleveland police officer Jamieson Ritter on July 4 -- made his first court appearance in the case Friday morning where a judge set his bond at $5 million.
“The uptick in gun violence involving young people, quite frankly, is alarming, exhausting and dismaying," the judge said before announcing bond during the brief hearing in Cleveland Municipal Court. "The harm to the families, the community and society at large is immeasurable.”
WHAT THE STATE SAID IN COURT
Prior to the judge's bond, the state briefly described the allegations against Hardy.
“The officers were searching for this defendant because of an incident that occurred in Garfield Heights on Friday, June 29. Allegedly on that day, the defendant stole his grandmother’s gun and shot her in the face. His grandmother is in Metro Hospital. She is on life support. It is alleged that she is brain dead. The officers were looking for him. Five days later, they found him in Cleveland. In an attempt to arrest him, this defendant used deadly force in trying to escape.”
It's alleged that he fired five times -- one of which hit officer Ritter.
DETAILS OF THE SHOOTING
Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd said officers had received a call to respond to the 1500 block of East 80th "for a male wanted for a felonious assault from a local suburb."
"Officers arrived on scene and attempted to make contact with the male," Chief Todd said. "The male did exit the house and tried to leave the area on a bicycle. Officers attempted to arrest the male when the male produced a firearm and began firing multiple times. One of our members was struck by one of those bullets. He was transported to the hospital and he did expire at the hospital from his injuries."
Hardy was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure, but Todd said he had no injuries.
3News' Dave DeNatale contributed to this initial report.
Previous Reporting:
- Cleveland police officer killed in overnight shooting identified as Jamieson Ritter
- Breaking updates: Cleveland police officer dies in overnight shooting
- Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb releases statement after officer killed in overnight shooting: 'My deepest condolences go out to the family'
- Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd speaks after officer killed in shooting: 'This is another time to show our support to our officers'