I-Team: Cleveland city worker shot now fired over the incident

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Fox 8 I-Team has found a Cleveland City worker shot at a city garage in April has now been fired over the incident.

The city fired Street Maintenance Foreman Reginald Smith. While the victim of the shooting, he lost his job for violating city policy and rules regarding bringing a weapon into the workplace.

Last April, a woman followed Smith as he pulled into a City Public Works garage. Investigators found that she shot him with a gun he had in his vehicle. He went to the hospital and police arrested the woman.

Aisha Schwartz has pleaded guilty to charges filed by Cuyahoga County Prosecutors She is set to be sentenced Tuesday.

An internal investigation also showed that the incident happened as a result of Smith bringing a gun to work. The City Department of Human Resources found Smith had worked in law enforcement for over twenty-eight years and was a police officer for many years for the City of Cleveland.

“He knew, or reasonably should have known, that bringing a loaded firearm into his place of work was a violation of policy, especially if left unsecured,” according to the department.

The city also found that Smith brought a loaded gun every day to work with the Streets Dept.

“Smith stated that he carries the handgun because he is an ex-police officer and has been threatened in the past by people he arrested in his former career,” according to the city.

But, some mystery still surrounds the shooting.

Smith has told police and internal investigators he did not know the woman who’d followed him into the city garage.

The city found, after Smith pulled in and got out, the woman jumped into his truck. So, Smith got back in it. Then, he saw the woman “holding the gun that he had not secured.”

Smith claimed Aisha Scwartz “fired the weapon five to seven times tracking his movements” and hitting him in the shoulder.

The City concluded, “The fact that Smith brought the loaded weapon into the building, and failed to secure it, was a serious violation. It caused the lives of himself and of his co-workers to be in serious imminent danger.”

Another factor in the termination was Smith’s disciplinary history dating back to when he was a city police officer.

Records show “He retired in October 2016 after he had been indicted City of Cleveland” for felonious assault and Unauthorized Use of Property.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.