Run for officer Ritter: Community gathers to honor fallen hero

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CLEVELAND (WJW) – Support for fallen Cleveland police officer Jamieson Ritter continues to pour in as colleagues and loved ones honor his legacy and sacrifice.

Hundreds gathered on Saturday morning in downtown Cleveland at the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial on Lakeside Avenue for a prayer and moment of silence for Ritter. The group then performed a short formation run around the block, ending at the memorial where flowers were placed.

The 27-year-old Cleveland police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on the Fourth of July while working to apprehend a suspect wanted for a shooting in Garfield Heights.

Many in attendance for the run were fellow Cleveland police officers, several were Academy 147 classmates of Ritter’s.

“He’s just someone that, you know, you wanted to try to be like,” officer Shanautica Gardner said. “He reflects on you, as a person.”

“He knew how to lift you up if you were having a bad day,” officer Joe Walsh said. “He was always there for you if you needed him. You could call him anytime.”

Several of Ritter’s family members were in attendance for the event, overwhelmed with emotion as they continue to grieve.

Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd has been speaking for the family, who are devastated.

“To lose your son, there’s just no words for it,” Todd said. “And right now, the only thing we’re doing is offering any support and trying to be their voice as much as possible while they’re here.”

A memorial continues to grow on Ritter’s cruiser across town at the Third District police headquarters. Ritter’s colleagues said he taught them many lessons, including how to be a great leader and a better friend.

“We’ll miss him, you know,” Gardner said. “He’s one of our best leaders we had in our class from day one until his last days. So we will miss him, and it hurts, but we will try to continue each day to be like him and carry on how he was.”

Ritter’s memorial service will be Monday, July 8, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist on Superior Avenue at 10 a.m.

His funeral will be in his home state of New York.

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Tino Bovenzi

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