Upstate NY native serving as Cleveland police officer fatally shot on July 4th. What we know now

An upstate New York native serving as a Cleveland police officer was shot and killed in the early morning hours on the Fourth of July. Officer Jamieson Ritter, 27, was shot about 1 a.m. on Thursday, authorities said. Police arrested 24-year-old Delawnte Hardy on an aggravated murder charge in connection to the shooting, authorities said.

Shortly before 1 a.m., the department's third district received a call to respond to a house at the 1500 block of East 80th Street to issue a warrant for felonious assault to Hardy. Hardy left the house and attempted to leave on a bicycle, authorities said. When officers attempted to arrest Hardy, he brandished a gun and fired multiple shots at the officers, hitting Ritter.

Ritter later died at a local hospital, authorities said.

Who was Cleveland Police Officer Jamieson Ritter?

Jamieson Ritter, a Webster, New York, native, was a 2015 graduate of McQuaid Jesuit High School.

Ritter later graduated from the Syracuse University in 2019, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard and served with the 134th Field Artillery Regiment as a member of the Ohio Army National Guard.

More:Slain Cleveland officer's father survived 2012 Christmas Eve ambush in upstate NY

He was deployed to Syria in 2022 with his unit and then returned to continue his service with the city of Cleveland in 2023, according to Greece police.

His father, Jon Ritter, served as a police officer in Greece, New York, according to the Greece Police Department.

Cleveland reacts to death of Police Officer Jamieson Ritter

Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy "Annie" Todd said in a Thursday morning press conference that Ritter served in the department's third district and has been on the force four years.

"I ask the community: Keep our law enforcement members, men and women, in their prayers," Todd said. "This is a really tough situation, and it’s hitting everyone really hard.”

She said she has talked to Ritter's family several times.

"I can't even begin to express how they feel," she said. "It's absolutely devastating."

Todd added: "There’s nothing I can say to them that’s going to make it better, but I can tell you that we will 100% be there for them and support them."

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb also spoke at the press conference.

“We just ask the residents of Cleveland to pray for this family, pray for the men and women of our police department, especially as we celebrate this fourth of July holiday and the freedom that we have in this country," Bibb said. "That freedom depends on the men and women of our police department, not just in Cleveland but all across the nation."

Contributing: Akron Beacon Journal Reporter Patrick Williams