Mother of man shot and killed by Cleveland police officer seeks justice in son's death

CLEVELAND - A Northeast Ohio mother is on a mission to bring justice for her son, whom authorities say was killed by a police officer's bullet.

For Bernadette Rolen, the past six months have been the worst of her life. The son she adored, 27-year-old Daniel Ficker, was beaten, shot and killed outside his Parma home. What's more, Parma police identified the shooter as a Cleveland police officer.

"We just want justice for our son," she said during an interview at her home Monday night.

Earlier in the day, Rolen led a rally in front of the Justice Center in Cleveland to get the attention of the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, who has now received the case from the Parma Police Department.

"We wanted him to hear our voice and know that we want an indictment here," she said.

Rolen said her son was confronted by two Cleveland police officers on the night of July 3, 2011. One of them had accused him of stealing jewelry from his house where Dan Ficker had attended a get together that afternoon. Rolen said her son didn't take the jewelry.

"He shouldn't have been killed that night," she said. "They shouldn't even have come to his house."

Prosecutor Bill Mason's office issued the following statement:

"This past Thursday our office received the remainder of the investigation from the Parma Police Department. We are continuing to investigate this case. The public can be assured that the investigation into the circumstances of Daniel Ficker's death will be complete and thorough. After the investigation has been completed, we will present the results to a grand jury."

The Cleveland Police Department said Monday that one of the officers involved, Matthew Craska, is currently assigned to a non-sensitive assignment, where he has limited contact with the public and does not respond to emergency calls.  The other, David Mindek, is on regular duty.