Cleveland police called for domestic violence hours before Amber Alert issued for four siblings

CLEVELAND - Hours before an Amber Alert was issued for four Cleveland children, officers were called to their mother’s house for a report of domestic violence.

Cleveland police responded to an apartment on Bivens Drive at about 11:20 p.m.

According to the police report, Tamika Hatchell, 31, told officers that her and her husband of four and a half years attacked her. Tamika and Octavia Hatchell, 33, have been separated since an incident in March and have four children together.

The police report said Octavia Hatchell entered the apartment without Tamika’s knowledge and when she confronted him, he punched her in the eye. She told police she tried to call 911 with her cell phone, but her husband threw her onto the couch. Tamika Hatchell also told police her husband also tried to strangle her.

Once Tamika Hatchell managed to get away, she called police from a neighbor’s house. The police report said that her blue Buick Regal, cell phone, purse, $100 cash and credit cards were taken.

Police said Tamika Hatchell had a red mark with swelling to her left eye and several tears in her dress when they arrived. The children, ages 11, 10, 9 and 6, were not home at the time.

The Amber Alert for the children was issued at about 3 p.m. after Tamika Hatchell called police. Cleveland police said Octavia Hatchell took his four children from two different schools in the city’s second district.

“We were told by the mother that he said he was going to kill them and kill himself,” said Cleveland police Sgt. Sammy Morris during a brief news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Octavia Hatchell was taken into custody and the four children were found unharmed at about 5:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Sulzer Avenue in Euclid. On Thursday, Hatchell was charged with robbery and is set to appear in court on Friday. According to Cleveland police, other charges will be presented to the prosecutor’s office for review.

Records show Octavia Hatchell was charged with aggravated burglary and assault in 1996 and 2000.