Beach officer cleared in fatal shooting outside club

A police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the January shooting death of a 17-year-old during a pursuit outside an Oceanfront club, the commonwealth’s attorney’s office announced Friday. The judgment, made Thursday night by Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey L. Bryant III, allows Officer Robert C. Ernest to return to normal duty. The investigation stems from an incident that began at about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, when police received calls that shots had been fired in the parking lot of The Beach House at 17th Street and Cypress Avenue. Other calls followed from the cell phones of youths attending a teen night there. [more] and [more]