A suspended Cleveland Police officer, who was a former public information officer at the department, pled guilty Thursday to charges in connection to a shot fired in the parking lot of Riverview Elementary School while off-duty on Oct. 31, 2024.
Alexander S. Sinclair pled guilty to the following counts:
- One count of kidnapping
- One count of abduction
- Two counts of endangering children
- One count of assault
- One count of inducing panic
What happened?
The Lake County Sheriff's Office arrested Sinclair after deputies alleged he fired a shot into a car window during a domestic dispute. A school resource officer was able to detain him after a struggle.
The incident prompted a lockdown at Riverview Elementary School and postponed the school's Halloween parties.
A woman in the car described how Sinclair followed her to the school after an argument at a nearby daycare.
After dropping off one of her children, she said Sinclair then rammed his vehicle into hers, which prevented her from leaving the school's parking lot.
She said Sinclair then got out of his vehicle and "walked around the front of the car with his gun pointed at the window. He shot that firearm, and it went through my windshield."
The bullet did not hit anyone.
Two nearby schools went into lockdown as first responders swarmed the scene in response, shaking up parents who quickly came to take their children home.
Who is the officer?
Sinclair, 34, was once considered a rising star within the Cleveland Division of Police.
Before working in the Fifth District, he briefly served as the department’s public information officer, where he worked with the media to provide information to the public and schedule interviews with police officials.
City records show he was hired in April 2015.
