A grand jury has cleared a former Syracuse firefighter of any criminal charges from a deadly hit-and-run almost a year ago.
The grand jury found no evidence for charges against Ted Ackerman, who was following former DA investigator Peter Rauch when Rauch struck and killed 18-year-old Seth Collier last March. Ackerman was charged with tampering with evidence for unplugging a recording device in the Pastime Athletic Club, where Rauch hid after the collision. But the special prosecutor in the case confirmed Ackerman did that over an hour later. After he was charged, Ackerman was fired from the Syracuse Fire Department by then-mayor Stephanie Miner, and the firefighter's union has been trying to get Ackerman reinstated with the department.