Grand jury clears Springfield officers in fatal shooting of man who fired at them

A Summit County grand jury has declined to indict Springfield Township police officers in the shooting death of Jeremy McCracken last October, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Tuesday.

“After reviewing BCI’s investigation, the grand jury determined that the involved officers should not face any criminal charges,” Yost said. “As a matter of complete transparency, we have published BCI's entire investigation on our website for anyone to view."

The Springfield Township Police Department asked the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate the shooting, which involved Police Chief Jack Simone and Sgt. Joe Gaffney, at 2347 E. Waterloo Road on Oct. 5.

More: Springfield Township police chief back on duty after Oct. 5 shooting at East Waterloo home

BCI’s investigation determined that Simone was attempting to tow a junk vehicle from the property for ongoing zoning violations when McCracken, 38, exited a residence and began firing a pistol at the officer and a tow truck operator.

The chief and Gaffney, who arrived on scene during the incident, fired back and struck McCracken, who was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The BCI investigation was referred to a special prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office, who was appointed by the Summit County prosecutor to present the case to a grand jury. The grand jury issued a “no bill” indictment, declining to charge the involved officers.

Junk vehicle enforcement leads to shootout

The Ohio Attorney General's office released several videos of the incident Tuesday.

The footage includes these videos these from a neighbor's surveillance camera. McCracken was wearing a red shirt.

On the videos, gunshots can be heard, some yelling and a figure in a red shirt can be seen briefly running toward some bushes.

Simone worked for the Copley Police Department for 25 years before being appointed chief in Springfield in 2020.

In a videotaped interview with a BCI investigator, Simone said as part of his duties with the township, he is responsible for dealing with junk vehicle and property maintenance issues in cooperation with the township zoning department.

Simone said he had sent certified letters regarding a junk car on the East Waterloo Road property to McCracken, who lives on the property owned by McCracken's father. Simone said he previously had two junk vehicles towed from another property owned by McCracken's father.

Simone said he had been attempting to have a vehicle removed from the property for months. He said a vehicle that does not have current registration and is not in an enclosed space is in violation of township zoning resolutions.

Simone said he had been checking the property weekly to ensure the junk vehicle was still there, as McCracken had placed plywood on three sides of the car, logs on a fourth and wired a tarp over the top.

On the day of the shooting, Simone and Township Trustee Kellie Chapman were driving around the neighborhood and decided to make arrangements to tow the car since the weather was good and the tow service was likely available.

"I assumed this house was vacant," he said, adding he hadn't seen a vehicle in the driveway since February.

Simone said he and the tow driver were attempting to look into the trunk of the vehicle after the tow driver had removed the tarp and one of the sheets of plywood.

"We got to the back of the vehicle and the trunk was ajar, so we were kind of jumpy, like maybe there's a body in the trunk, that's why he's reluctant to move the car," Simone said. "That's when I heard the shots fired ... For a minute it didn't actually register − this guy's actually shooting at us. So, when I saw the shots fired, he was standing on his back porch and I could see him, his red shirt and the gun shooting at us."

He said he told Chapman, who was nearby, to run.

More: Man killed by Springfield Twp. police had unsuccessfully sued township over zoning

Simone said he kneeled down and fired two shots at McCracken. Later in the interview, he recalled yelling at McCracken to get back into his house.

He said McCracken ran from the porch into some bushes after he returned fire.

Simone said he told Gaffney, who had just arrived, where McCracken had gone, then left his covered position and went into the open "because I felt that I had to address this threat, immediately."

"I could see him in the bushes ... I could see his red shirt," McCraken said. "I fired once at least, maybe twice, at him going through the bushes."

Gaffney, a 21-year veteran and recently retired commander of Metro SWAT, said he knew Simone had been dealing with a junk vehicle at the property and heard Simone call for a tow and decided to head over there.

He had just arrived and was getting out of his vehicle when he heard gunshots and ran toward Simone.

As more shots were fired, "I just saw a silhouette of a subject moving quick ... he's got a red shirt he was moving around.

"I could see him carrying a gun in his hand and as he came around a corner I got up on two feet − Boom! He got the first round off."

Gaffney said he fired two quick bullets in McCracken's direction, and saw McCracken had a revolver and appeared to be getting ready to shoot again. Gaffney said he got into a triangular firing position and took two better aimed shots at McCracken.

McCraken was wounded, but still moving, breathing and moaning when paramedics arrived.

Resident previously sued township over zoning enforcement

Last August, McCracken unsuccessfully sued the township over zoning in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio alleging township officials and employees violated his civil rights by coming onto the East Waterloo property where he lived, but was owned by his father.

The lawsuit, filed by McCracken acting as his own counsel, says that Springfield Township police accused him of having a "junk motor vehicle" on the property in violation of local law, but claiming his constitutional rights were violated.

McCracken was seeking punitive damages totaling $1 million from the township and police department, and $250,000 in punitive damages ‒ $50,000 apiece ‒ from five Springfield Township officials.

U.S. District Court Judge Benita Pearson dismissed the lawsuit, saying in part McCracken failed to demonstrate that his constitutional rights were violated by the township.

Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Springfield police chief, sergeant cleared in fatal shooting