A jury found former East Cleveland police commander Larry McDonald guilty Thursday for lying about his role in two police pursuits, one of which resulted in a fatal crash.
McDonald was accused of initiating both chases, including one that resulted in a man's death. McDonald resigned from the East Cleveland Police Department in 2023 after investigators said he failed to report another pursuit in Cleveland that ended in a crash in March of that year.
In April 2024, McDonald was indicted on charges including tampering with records, telecommunications fraud, obstructing official business and dereliction of duty in connection with the crash.
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Jurors found McDonald guilty of felony charges of tampering with records, obstructing official business, tampering with evidence, telecommunications fraud and misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty.
What happened
In March of 2022, prosecutors said McDonald failed to tell other officers that he was involved in a pursuit that ended in a crash that killed a 20-year-old man in Euclid.
The crash happened shortly after 3 a.m. near Euclid Avenue and Chardon Road. It was unclear what led up to the crash at the time. The car totaled at least four vehicles and damaged another eight at a car dealership lot after slamming into a row of iron and concrete fence posts along Euclid Avenue. The impact sent the car airborne, smashing into and destroying an RTA bus shelter.
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Prosecutors hammered McDonald during the trial, pointing out that he didn't report the second chase and only returned to the scene after a fellow officer called and told him about the crash. He denied the allegations.
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A sentencing date has not been set.
