CLEVELAND -- In a ruling Wednesday afternoon, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Robert McClelland finds Cleveland police Officer David Mindek not guilty of dereliction of duty.
Mindek, 41, was accused of dereliction of duty, a misdemeanor, stemming from a July 4, 2011 fight between Cleveland officer Matthew Craska and Daniel Ficker.
Craska shot and killed Ficker, 27.
Craska has not been charged. Mindek, who was off duty at the time, was indicted in March.
Mindek was represented by attorney Pat D'Angelo. Mindek did not testify on his own behalf and D'Angelo rested his defense without calling a witness.
D-'Angelo said Ficker "was on a path to self-destruction." He also said Mindek followed department policy by using extreme caution as an off-duty officer.
McClelland heard the two-day trial without a jury. Had he been convicted, Mindek would have faced 90 days in jail and a fine of $750.
WKYC-TV