CLEVELAND, Ohio — The police officer who fatally shot a 21-year-old man who attacked him at the Corner Alley bowling alley in University Circle had previously been convicted of lying about working when he was actually at his home.
Sgt. Dean Graziolli, a 26-year veteran of the police department, will spend three days on paid administrative leave, then will be assigned to light duty in the gym at the downtown Cleveland police headquarters while the investigation into the shooting proceeds, according to Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Betley.
Graziolli, 51, was treated and released from University Hospitals after the attack, Betley said. He said he suffered several bruises and cuts on his face, head and body from the attack. He received several stitches and is resting at home, Betley said.
“The FOP stands behind him and will guide him through this process,” Betley said.
The incident at the Corner Alley began about 11 p.m. Saturday when a fight broke out inside the popular bowling alley, bar and restaurant on Euclid Avenue and Ford Drive.
Bar employees kicked out the brawlers and Graziolli, who was working part-time security at the business, escorted them outside, a police spokeswoman said. The 21-year-old man, however, returned and attacked Graziolli outside the bowling alley, just a few steps from the front door.
Graziolli, a sergeant since 2002, fired shots, killing the man, who has not yet been identified. A witness told cleveland.com that he heard two gunshots.
“The Corner Alley Uptown in University Circle is saddened by the very unfortunate incident that occurred last night,” a statement from the restaurant’s director of operations, Jonathan Seeholzer said. “We remain committed to working with our partners at Cleveland Police, University Circle Police and CWRU police to create a safe and fun environment for all our patrons.”
Graziolli is a day-shift sergeant in the Fifth District, Betley said.
Graziolli in 2014 pleaded guilty to eight first-degree misdemeanor counts of falsification.
He claimed on his pay records to have been working on eight different days between Oct. 14 and Nov. 1, 2012. His cellphone records showed that he wasn’t in the Fourth District, where he claimed to be, for most of those days. An investigation later found that Graziolli was at home when he claimed to be working those days.
He was given a suspended six-month jail sentence and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
It’s the first fatal Cleveland police-involved shooting since patrolman Steven Fedorko fatally shot 33-year-old Antonio Levision on Oct. 25 in the city’s Glenville neighborhood. Levison ran from officers investigating a shots-fired complaint and had pointed his gun at Fedorko before the officer fired the fatal shots.
The investigation into that shooting is ongoing.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/01/cleveland_officer_who_fatally.html