GRAPHIC: 11 East Cleveland police officers indicted for violating civil rights, public corruption

16 officers have been indicted in the last 7 months on multiple charges involving citizen arrests
Published: Mar. 8, 2023 at 11:49 AM EST|Updated: Mar. 8, 2023 at 3:50 PM EST
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley announced Wednesday afternoon 11 current and former East Cleveland police officers were just indicted on allegations of violating civil rights and public corruption.

Charges include felonious assault, assault, interfering with civil rights, dereliction of duty, tampering with records and disrupting public service.

According to O’Malley, the alleged crimes happened between February 2020 and July 2022 and there were a total of 11 victims.

“The citizens of East Cleveland deserve better,” said O’Malley.

At Wednesday’s news conference, O’Malley played body camera video of the incidents involving the most recent 11 officers indicted.

WARNING: Some may find the footage graphic or violent. Viewer discretion advised.

“People in these videos were giving up. They were showing their hands, they were not threats, they were acquiescing to the authority of law enforcement and putting their hands up in all these instances and that wasn’t enough and I don’t know what else ay citizen can do,” said O’Malley.

O’Malley identified the officers as:

Officer Nicholas Foti--already resigned from East Cleveland

Officer Ian McInnes--current detective with East Cleveland

Officer Kyle Wood--currently on leave due to prior indictments

Officer Tristan Homan--terminated from Elyria Police department Wednesday

Sgt. John Hartman--current East Cleveland police officer

Officer Tyler Mundson--currently on leave due to prior indictments

Officer Brian Stoll--currently on leave due to prior indictments

Officer Laurice Mans--already fired from East Cleveland

Officer Brian Parks--current East Cleveland police officer

Officer Daniel Toomer --currently on leave due to prior indictments

Officer Trey Dehart Robinson--current East Cleveland police officer

The Cleveland Office of the FBI set up a hotline at 216-583-5343 for people to call with any other incidents involving East Cleveland police officers.

This bring the number to a total of 16 East Cleveland police officers that have been indicted for crimes in the past six and a half months. The other criminal charges; include, stealing from people while on duty, felonious assault, accepting bribes and assault.

O’Malley said the 16 East Cleveland police officers were involved in a total of 31 incidents from June 2018-July 2022 and there are a total of 17 victims.

One of the 16 officers facing criminal charges is former East Cleveland Police Chief Scott Gardner. He is accused of financial crimes and scheduled back in court on April 20.

As of Wednesday, there are currently anywhere from 20-26 police officers working on the East Cleveland police force not facing any charges.

Below is the original statement from Elyria police regarding Officer Tristan Homan:

“The city has placed Officer Tristan Homan on paid leave as we conduct our own investigation. The incident leading to the indictment is disturbing and shows behavior not acceptable to our department. The city had no knowledge of the incident or any investigation prior to his hire in October of 2022. There is now a legal and investigation process to follow.”

Shortly after, an updated statement from Elyria police was released:

“After direct conversations with investigators representing the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, the city has terminated Officer Tristan Homan.”

East Cleveland City Council has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday evening.

Council President Juanita Gowdy is asking for the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department for assistance due to what she called a lack of enough officers to protect the public.