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Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland police officer involved in a fatal shooting outside The Corner Alley Saturday night has been identified, police sources tell the FOX 8 I-Team.

Sources say the officer is Sgt. Dean Graziolli, who was off-duty at the time, working security at the bar.

Graziolli reportedly shot and killed a suspect outside The Corner Alley on Euclid Avenue Saturday night, after getting attacked.

According to a police report, Graziolli helped to break up a fight inside the bar between a group of men. He escorted them outside, but one of the men returned and “physically assaulted” him, the report said.

That’s when, police said, the officer shot the man.  The man was taken to University Hospitals, where he was pronounced dead.

Graziolli was treated for injuries he received during the altercation.

A 911 call released on Sunday revealed the initial confusion of the dispatcher over what happened.

911 caller: “A police officer just got into it with a customer and had to shoot him.”

Dispatcher:  “What? Where are you?”

The caller then goes on to describe how the man and his friend had been fighting, when they were kicked out.  Graziolli allegedly pulled his gun out when the man was “getting into it” with him, according to the 911 caller.

Later on the call, the dispatcher asks: “Are you sure this was a Cleveland police officer?” The 911 caller responded with, “Yes.”

One man told FOX 8 he was at the bar and witnessed the fight. He said the officer came out to break it up.

“I was going back inside, and I turned around and saw the officer had blood on his face, and then I saw him fire a shot at the one guy,” the witness told FOX 8.

Another woman, who did not want to be identified, saw the fight escalate and saw the officer break it up. She told FOX-8, “The victim, the one who was shot, was punching the other guy the other guy looked pretty scared so he tried backing away.”

“They were both escorted out and you saw both of them outside the Corner Alley talking. Pretty soon you saw the victim taking off his coat and it looked like they were about to fight again. The victim had a fighting stance and the other guy looked a little scared.”

 

READ MORE: Fox8.com

Article Courtesy of WJW Fox 8 News Cleveland

First and Second Picture Courtesy of Douglas Sacha and Getty Images

Video Courtesy of Joshua Duke, Facebook, and WJW Fox 8 News Cleveland

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