While trying to flee the scene, Mason drove a 4WD into a police cruiser, causing "serious injuries" to a police officer's lower legs and ribs, according to Cleveland.com. Mason then tried to escape on foot and was arrested. Police charged him with felonious assault in the collision that injured the officer.
Both Mason and the police officer were treated at a hospital.
Mason pleaded guilty in 2015 to attempted felonious assault and domestic violence after punching Fraser 20 times and slamming her head against the dashboard of a car five times in 2014 - an attack so violent that it required her to receive facial reconstructive surgery, WKYC reported. Mason, still a judge at the time, was removed from the bench and served nine months in prison.
Their two children, then aged 4 and 6, were in the car when the assault took place, according to Cleveland.com. Fraser filed for divorce two days after the incident, though the case is pending. She also sued Mason in civil court and was awarded US$150,000.
According to Cleveland.com, Mason wrote in a letter to Fraser as part of his petition for early release that he "failed as a husband, father, and a man." The letter also said, "Instead of loving, protecting and providing for you and our daughters, I have provided a terrible example, and exposed you to rage and violence."
In a statement after Fraser's slaying, the city of Cleveland acknowledged that they are aware of Mason's arrest. They added that Mason, who worked for the city as a minority business development administrator, had been terminated "effective immediately."
Mason is also a former member of the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives.
"I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Ms. Aisha Fraser, especially to her children," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said in the statement. WKYC reports that Jackson hired Mason to his role in 2017.
Fraser's killing has sent shock waves through the Shaker Heights community as they mourn the loss of an instructor who worked in the school system for more than 16 years. She taught at Woodbury primary school at the time of her death, and her two children - now 11 and 8 - were students in the school system.
John Morris, president of the Shaker Heights Teachers' Association, said that Fraser's killing has been "devastating" for the city.
"I can't imagine a more difficult circumstance," he said, emphasising the impact on the two young children she leaves behind.
Morris notes that the Shaker Heights community backed Fraser as she overcame the 2014 assault, and eventually helped her return to teaching.
"Aisha grew up in Shaker, she was a '91 graduate, we had survived with her in 2014 and 2015 when the first incident happened," he said. "Everyone saw her recover and saw her thrive the last few years; to see this happen tore the hearts out of all of us."
Morris said Fraser worked diligently to maintain a family environment for her students, especially those with special needs. He added that her consistency and compassion made her a calming presence for everyone she knew.
"When you came into her classroom or saw her in the building she was never the loudest teacher, but she played this consistent role in her student's lives; she became a touch point," he said.
He added that she had an infectious smile and a hearty laugh that reverberated from the bottom of her soul.
