2 juveniles, 1 adult in custody in connection to murder of Cleveland Police Officer James Skernivitz
CLEVELAND, Ohio Sept 5 2020 Two juveniles and one adult were arrested Friday morning in connection with the murder of a Cleveland police detective.
Officer James Skernivitz, 53, was shot and killed in the line of duty around 10 p.m. Thursday in the area of W. 65th and Storer Avenue.
He was pronounced dead at MetroHealth Hospital late Thursday evening, said police.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said Skernivitz was shot in the trunk portion of his body, which caused fatal injuries to his heart, great vessels and lungs.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Chief of Police Calvin Williams spoke about the officer’s murder during a 3 p.m. virtual press conference:
Police said Skernivitz and a second man were ambushed while sitting in Skernivitz’s police vehicle.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified the second man as Scott Dingess, 50.
“For all the people putting it on Facebook, he was never an informant. I don’t know why people keep saying that,” his daughter said.
His mom described him as a great person who was outgoing and made people laugh.
“He didn’t ask nobody for anything,” his daughter said, adding he was a hard worker and an independent person.
Skernivitz was a 25-year veteran of the Cleveland police department and was assigned to the gang impact unit.
“He was the one you’d want to duplicate over and over again because he did the work the way it was supposed to be done,” Chief Williams said.
He was also in the Cleveland honor guard.
Skernivitz was married with two adult children.
“Cleveland lost one of its finest tonight in the line of duty,” said Williams.
Police have not yet released the names of the three suspects. They were taken into custody on unrelated warrants and are now being questioned for their potential roles in the deadly shooting.
Chief Williams would not go into detail about the assignment Skernivitz was working at the time of the shooting.
Anyone with additional information is asked to call 911 or Crimestoppers at 216-25-CRIME.
The FBI has also set up a tip line at 216-622-6842.
