EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two East Cleveland Police officers who were charged last month were indicted on additional charges Tuesday for an on-duty incident during which a man being arrested was assaulted, and two other East Cleveland officers were indicted for a separate incident in which a man who was not resisting officers’ commands was also assaulted, according to a news release from Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. Amid these allegations, and after a city councilperson called for the FBI to investigate, the agency has established a hotline seeking tips from the public on corruption and civil rights violations from East Cleveland Police.
With today’s indictments, a total of nine East Cleveland Police officers, including the city’s police chief, have been charged for various alleged crimes since last August.
Acting East Cleveland Police Chief Brian Gerhard told News 5 he was completely blindsided by the indictments.
"I was a little shocked and in disbelief as usual,” Gerhard said. "We don’t condone this type of activity.”
“They’re making these facts bigger than what they are. Yes, the officers were indicted, they haven’t been convicted. If you look at some of the charges against them, they’re stacked. You got double counts of assault and all this other stuff. So, I don’t know what the investigators downtown have. They don’t share that with us, they don’t have to. We’re just going to be fully transparent and cooperate with them."
East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King responded to the indictments and said he would be swearing-in Gerhard as the permanent police chief by the end of the week.
Mayor King issued the following statement:
"The number one focus of the King Administration is safety for residents and visitors. Building a credible police force is paramount to an effective department. It is my mission to clean up the police department officer by officer; and upon the identification of compromised officers within the police department, to remove them from active duty immediately as well as assist in their prosecution.
In pursuit of that goal, acting Chief Brian Gerhard will be sworn in as acting chief of the East Cleveland Police Department on Friday, October 7 at city hall.
Acting chief Gerhard has an impeccable record within the department with roots in the city from childhood. He has been cooperating with the county prosecutor's office to ensure that the East Cleveland police department is purged of all bad officers and to restore confidence in the police department."
East Cleveland Councilwoman at-large Patrica Blochowiak told News 5 she welcomes the FBI getting involved and gathering information, and said she'll recommend Mayor King bring in the Cuyahoga Sheriff's Department or the Ohio Highway Patrol to oversee the East Cleveland Police Department while the officer investigations move forward.
“I would like the county sheriff to temporarily take over our police activities," Blochowiak said. “It’s incredible how many have been indicted. From the prosecutor, they say there are on-going investigations, which to me added to the fact that they have a call-in line for people who want to complain about the police, means that there are more to come."
“It’s difficult to image that the department can recover from this in the short term. It’s bad that we’re having this many indictments, but on the other hand it’s a good thing if there’s this much corruption, we want them to find it all.”
RELATED: East Cleveland police chief suspended after indictment for felony financial crimes
Officers Tyler Mundson, 30 and Brian Stoll, 31, were indicted on additional charges on Tuesday in connection with an attempted traffic stop and pursuit on March 31, 2022, the release states.
RELATED: Two East Cleveland police officers indefinitely suspended following indictments for multiple charges
Mundson attempted to stop a 32-year-old man in East Cleveland and was joined in his pursuit by Stoll, 33-year-old Daniel Toomer and 32-year-old Kyle Wood, O’Malley said. The pursuit ended near Galewood Avenue and Ingalton Avenue in Cleveland, and the 32-year-old victim was arrested on scene.
During the pursuit, Wood initially reported that the victim hit the front of his cruiser. Body camera video would later show that Wood rammed the rear side of the victim’s vehicle, the news release states.
Body camera video from the arrest revealed that the victim had parked his vehicle, had both hands out the window and was complying with the officer's commands. According to the news release, Wood and Stoll then forcefully removed the victim from his vehicle and physically assaulted him by punching him and kneeing him in the head and torso while Mundson hand-cuffed him.
After the arrest, Wood falsely radioed dispatch and said that the victim had hit the front of his cruiser and was resisting arrest. Mundson’s report reflected this narrative, O’Malley stated.
After the officers placed the victim in the police cruiser, they are heard discussing their assault on the victim, the release states.
Body camera video provided by East Cleveland Police to News 5 earlier this year was from the perspective of the second responding officer and does not show the officer ramming the victim's car or the alleged assault. The video also ends as officers walk back to their cruiser before they allegedly discuss the assault.
When he was back at the police station, Stoll took the victim’s phone, which the victim had been using to attempt to record the incident, and smashed it multiple times, bending it and cracking the screen, the release states.
In a separate incident on April 10, Toomer tried to execute a traffic stop on a 25-year-old victim while driving in East Cleveland, the release states. Wood and Stoll were in another cruiser and Mundson was in a third cruiser. The pursuit ended near 152nd Street and Lakeshore Boulevard in Cleveland.
During the pursuit, officers initially reported that the victim hit Wood’s cruiser, causing him to spin out, according to O’Malley’s news release. Body camera video revealed that Wood was the one who hit the victim’s car, causing the crash. Video also showed that during the arrest, the victim had both hands up in the air and was not resisting the officers’ commands.
After the pursuit, Stoll forcefully removed the victim from the car, and Wood physically assaulted him, the release states. Stoll then forced the victim in the back of the police cruiser.
That’s when the victim called 911 from his phone after telling officers on the scene he needed medical attention, the release states. Cleveland EMS arrived on the scene, but the East Cleveland officers sent EMS away.
Cleveland Police also responded to the scene, but East Cleveland officers obstructed their attempt to see the victim’s injuries. CPD officers then called EMS in spite of the East Cleveland officers’ refusal, and the victim was ultimately taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries.
According to the release from the prosecutor's office:
Kyle Wood was indicted on the following charges:
- One count of Theft In Office
- One count of Tampering With Evidence
- One count of Assault
- Two counts of Interfering With Civil Rights
- Two counts of Dereliction Of Duty
- One count of Felonious Assault
- One count of Obstructing Justice
- Two counts of Telecommunications Fraud
Tyler Mundson was indicted on the following charges:
- One count of Theft In Office
- Two counts of Tampering With Evidence
- One count of Assault
- Two counts of Interfering With Civil Rights
- Two counts of Dereliction Of Duty
- One count of Obstructing Justice
Brian Stoll was indicted on the following charges:
- One count of Theft In Office
- One count of Tampering With Evidence
- Two counts of Assault
- Two counts of Interfering With Civil Rights
- Two counts of Dereliction Of Duty
- One count of Felonious Assault
- One count of Obstructing Justice
Daniel Toomer was indicted on the following charges:
- One count of Theft In Office
- One count of Tampering With Evidence
- One count of Assault
- One count of Interfering With Civil Rights
- One count of Dereliction Of Duty
- One count of Obstructing Justice
- One count of Tampering Records
- One count of Disrupting Public Service
Wood and Toomer were both suspended without pay after being charged Tuesday, pending the conclusion of the criminal investigation, according to an order from acting East Cleveland Police Chief Brian Gerhard.
Gerhard also provided this statement to News 5:
The agency does not tolerate this type of conduct from the officers, it is certaily not an accurate representation of my department.
I have many good officers that perform their duites with honor and integrity.
All four officers will be arraigned at a later date, O’Malley said.
The FBI has established a hotline to collect information from the public about potential corruption and civil rights violations in the City of East Cleveland, O’Malley stated in the news release. Anyone with information about the incidents for which the four officers were indicted on Tuesday, or any other potentially criminal matters involving the East Cleveland Police Department, is asked to call 216-583-5343 and leave your name, number and a brief description of the alleged criminal activities.
Investigator Scott Noll reported on calls for the FBI to investigate the department last month:
RELATED: East Cleveland councilwoman calls for FBI investigation after more indictments
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