EAST CLEVELAND — Attorneys representing former and current East Cleveland police officers, now charged and convicted, in Cuyahoga County Court believe the city's current police chief should also be accused of wrongdoing.
Attorney Kimberly Kendall Corral sent News 5 copies of alleged text message memes that were sent or received on the cell phone of East Cleveland police chief Brian Gerhard that contained antisemitic and racist content.
The content is so triggering that News 5 can't show the content on television or our website.
Kendall Corral said the content, which was allegedly texted between June 2019 and August 2022, did not come from her client Kyle Wood but from other former East Cleveland police officers who wanted the public to be aware.
“This was a barrage of targeted, very specific content that targeted Jewish people, people of color," Kendall Corral said. “We know that coming forward with Gerhardt’s wrong doing doesn’t make other indictments go away, but it does take step to prevent on-going racist, antisemitic, sexist and homophobic persecution.”
East Cleveland Councilwoman at-large Patricia Blochowiak reviewed the more than two dozen texted memes and told News 5 she was stunned and appalled by the messages.
“These are disgusting, these are incredible, that this should come out of our police force," Blochowiak said. “My message to my police chief, if this is legitimate, he needs to resign, he needs to resign effective yesterday.”
Gerhard responded immediately and didn't deny receiving and or forwarding the texted memes, issuing the following statement:
The ridiculous and unwarranted attack on my character by the attorney's representing former East Cleveland Police officers facing charges and convictions in Cuyahoga County Court won't have an impact on the cases against them. The memes involved were simply World War II content sent to my personal cell phone.
Meanwhile, Kendall Corral told News 5 the release of the text messages is not a tit for tat in the charges brought against the former and current police officers.
“I knew it would be characterized that way, but I’m more comfortable with myself knowing that I did the right thing, that I came forward," Kendall Corral said. “This was so far beyond what could be characterized as an innocent joke mistake in a politically correct environment.”
News 5 will follow through on this developing story.
