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Grand Jury indicts Cleveland mayor's grandson on 2 felony charges for police chase in Parma

Posted at 6:23 PM, Feb 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-11 18:23:34-05

PARMA, Ohio — A Grand Jury has indicted the grandson of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on two felony charges for allegedly driving off and pulling an officer down the road before leading police on a high-speed chase into Cleveland last month.

Frank Q. Jackson has been charged with felonious assault and failure to comply for the incident that took place in Parma on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 24.

A police officer stopped a gold Saturn on State Road near the entrance ramp to I-480 eastbound for a window tint violation.

Body camera doesn't capture the first 30 seconds of the exchange between the officer and driver, but less than a minute into the recording, it's clear the officer knows who the driver is.

RELATED: Parma Police release video of Frank Q. Jackson's traffic stop

"Are you related to the mayor?" the officer asked the driver. "You're the grandson, right?"

Prosecutors said Jackson had just gotten out of jail hours earlier after being released on a GPS monitor following his arraignment on a separate domestic violence case.

At first, the traffic stop appeared routine.

"I can be quick," the officer told Jackson. "I can be quick as long as there's nothing in here, (and) you're honest with me, I'll get you out of here real fast okay?"

But when the officer tried to get Jackson to step out of the car so he could search it, Jackson appeared to hesitate.

"Why do you have to check?" asked Jackson on the video.

"I just asked you, you said I could," said the officer.

"No, I don't want you to like that," said Jackson. "I'm trying to get home."

"You got something in your car or no?" the officer said.

"No, I'm trying to get home, that's all," said Jackson.

Jackson is then seen repeatedly refusing to get out of the car.

"Hop out of the car or I'm pulling you out of the car, Frank," the officer said.

"Okay, look, this part I don't get," said Jackson. "What am I getting pulled over for?"

"The tint," said the officer. "The tint is extremely illegal on this car."

"Okay, I don't get it," said Jackson.

"Frank, hop out of the car," repeated the officer as he grabbed Jackson. "I'm not fighting with you. Get out of the car."

In the video, Jackson appeared to drive away with the officer still hanging onto his arm.

"He just took off northbound," radioed the officer.

The video showed police chasing Jackson into Cleveland where police said he hit a guardrail, and continued driving away.

At one point an officer reported his speed was 107 miles an hour.

Eventually, police said Jackson got off the highway where officers lost the car on side streets.

A Parma police officer then tells Cleveland police what happened.

"Frank Jackson's grandson dragged me down the road," said the officer.

Parma police said Frank Q. Jackson surrendered later.

They did not find the car Jackson was driving at the time.

In court last month, Jackson's attorney told a judge he believed the 24-year-old was spooked and made a bad decision.

Jackson was arraigned on the morning of Jan. 25 and was being held on a $10,000 cash/surety bond.

RELATED: Frank Q. Jackson facing felony charge after leading Parma police on chase hours after jail release

The Grand Jury indictment filed Thursday alleges Jackson "did knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm" to the officer "by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance," in this case, a 2008 Saturn. It also alleges that Jackson "did operate a motor vehicle so as willfully to elude or flee a police officer after receiving a visible or audible signal from a police officer to bring the person's motor vehicle to a stop."