CLEVELAND (AP) — A prosecutor in a neighboring Ohio city has been asked to determine whether an off-duty police officer should be charged criminally for accidentally firing a shot from his home that lodged in a classroom wall at a day care center with children and teachers inside.
No one was injured during the incident Tuesday in Cuyahoga Falls, an Akron suburb. Cuyahoga Falls Police Chief Jack Davis said the officer was cleaning a 9mm handgun when it accidentally fired.
East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton on Thursday identified the officer as 33-year-old Ian McInnes, a part-time officer in that city for about a year. Norton said East Cleveland hasn’t taken any action against McInnes but will be monitoring the Cuyahoga Falls police investigation.
A publicly listed telephone number for McInnes has been disconnected.
Cuyahoga Falls Law Director Russell Balthis said he asked the Hudson city solicitor to review whether charges are appropriate because McInnes is a volunteer reserve officer in Cuyahoga Falls. Hudson Solicitor Sara Fagnilli declined to comment Thursday, saying she had just received the case.
Davis didn’t know how many children and teachers were in the classroom at the time. McInnes immediately went to the day care center next door to his home to make sure no one was hurt, Davis said.
“I’m sure it was a very scary incident for the school and for him when they realized what happened,” Davis said.
Portland, Oregon-based KinderCare, which owns the day care center, has said parents were notified about the incident.
Davis said McInnes has been a reserve officer since 2014 and doesn’t carry a weapon when he volunteers for the police department. Reserves are assigned tasks such as directing traffic during parades and checking on the homes of people on vacation, Davis said.
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