Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's Grandson Found Dead, Homicide Suspected

Updated: 1:38 p.m., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021

The grandson of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has been shot and killed. In a tweet, the Cleveland Division of Police said 24-year-old Frank Q. Jackson was killed around 9 p.m. Sunday. The Cuyahoga County medical examiner said Frank Q.'s body was found in a yard at Anita Kennedy Avenue and East 70th Street, in Cleveland's Kinsman neighborhood.  

The mayor and Chief of Police Calvin Williams were both at the scene, along with a large number of police officers and other officials. Williams declined to comment.

“It’s not my place to say anything, ” Williams told Cleveland.com. Mayor Jackson has not released a statement. Cleveland City Council President and mayoral candidate Kevin Kelley tweeted his condolences. "The sudden loss of a child or grandchild is tragic," he said, and added that the public should respect the family's privacy. 

Kelley's opponent in the mayor's race this November, Justin Bibb, expressed his condolences, too, through his campaign's Twitter account. "I'm keeping them in my prayers," he said.

Frank Q. Jackson has had multiple encounters with police. He was slated to appear in court in November on felony charges stemming from a traffic stop in Parma in January. Police say Frank Q. ignored police orders and drove away from the scene, briefly dragging a police officer who was near the car. He was free on $10,000 bond, according to the Associated Press. 

He pleaded guilty in 2020 to misdemeanor assault after a fight with his then-girlfriend. The plea deal came on the third day of his trial on felony assault and abduction charges for allegedly beating and choking the young woman and striking her with a metal trailer hitch. Cuyahoga County prosecutors took the case after city prosecutors chose not to do so. 

Officers who pulled Frank Q. over for an earlier traffic violation in 2017 found him traveling with one passenger who had a handgun next to him in the back seat and another who was wanted for attempted murder. Two months later, in another traffic stop, officers discovered Frank Q. had a .40 caliber Glock handgun in the center console of his car and ammunition in his pocket.

In 2019, police investigating the daytime murder of 30-year-old Antonio Parra learned from witnesses that a car seen speeding away from the scene was registered to Frank Q. Jackson. Detectives showed up at the mayor’s home, where Frank Q. also lives. They left without taking the mayor's grandson into custody.

Several reports, citing anonymous sources, said Mayor Jackson told officers to turn off their body cameras, in violation of police department rules . Cell phone records show a flurry of calls to Chief Williams shortly before and after police showed up on the mayor’s porch. Several were from Mayor Jackson’s top aide and several from an unknown caller whose number was redacted for security reasons. 

Parra's mother has accused the mayor and police chief of interfering in the case, which the mayor denied in a recorded video. Andrea Parra sued the mayor and the police chief in 2019. That case is still working its way through the courts.

The mayor has refused to answer questions about his grandson. He has said he will not apologize for his family.