Cleveland police officer shot to death has ties to the Rochester area

Cleveland Police say that one of their officers was shot to death early Thursday while in the process of serving a warrant, and that officer has ties to the Rochester area.

27-year-old Jamieson Ritter is originally from Webster and was a 2015 graduate of McQuaid Jesuit High School.

Also, on X (formerly Twitter), Greece Police posted that Ritter’s father, Jon, had served with their department, retiring in 2013.

Jamieson Ritter is a Syracuse University graduate, who joined the Cleveland Division of Police in 2020. He also was a member of the Army National Guard, and deployed to Syria in 2022. When he returned, he continued with his police department duties in Cleveland.

According to the Associated Press, Ritter was part of a team sent to serve 24-year-old De’Lawnte Hardy with a warrant for felonious assault.

When officers arrived, Police Chief Dorothy Todd said that Hardy was seen fleeing the home on a bicycle and officers tried to stop him. Hardy allegedly fired a gun multiple times, striking Officer Ritter.

Hardy has been charged with aggravated murder.

McQuaid Jesuit released a statement saying that Ritter “displayed unwavering dedication and courage while serving his community,” and the school also said that “Jamieson embodied the values of service, justice, and leadership instilled in him as a student at McQuaid Jesuit.”

Officers, Chief Todd said, “go out there, they work hard. They risk their lives. They risk everything they have to protect the community.”

A statement from the police department in Cleveland said that according to Ritter’s family, “from an early age, Jamieson possessed an innate understanding of selfless service to the nation and a strong desire to serve his community.”

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.