2 more East Cleveland police indictments
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two more current and former members of the East Cleveland Police Department are now under indictment, one accused of unnecessarily ramming a suspect's car then claiming a workplace injury, another accused of driving drunk with a firearm.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury handed up a 10-count indictment charging police officer James Covell, 48, of Eastlake, with felony counts of tampering with records and evidence, telecommunications fraud and obstructing justice, according to a news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
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On May 9, 2024, while pursuing a vehicle that had fled a traffic stop, Covell allegedly rammed the back of the car when it stopped near Parkhill Avenue and East 130th Street in Cleveland.
The 25-year-old man driving the vehicle fled and was later apprehended. Two females who fled the vehicle before the collision were also arrested.
After the collision, Covell told fellow officers the suspect vehicle rammed him and even filed a workers' compensation claim stating the car backed into his cruiser, injuring him, before taking off, according to prosecutors.
'It is an honor and a privilege to serve the public and to hold a position of trust,' Prosecutor Michael O'Malley is quoted in the release. 'Officer Covell not only betrayed the trust of the community he swore to protect — he broke the law and will be held accountable.'
Acting Police Chief Kenneth Lundy told FOX 8 News that Covell is now on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. Lundy said he became aware of Covell's indictment on Wednesday but that he doesn't have 'knowledge surrounding the particulars of the indictment.'
Rashad Cotton, 20, of Cleveland Heights, a former East Cleveland police dispatcher, is also charged with one felony count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, related to a May 24 crash for which Cotton was convicted of drunk driving and vehicular assault and sentenced to prison.
At about 2 a.m. on May 24, 2024, Cotton crashed into an RTA bus near the intersection of Euclid and Doan avenues in East Cleveland.
Covell responded to the scene and removed an AR-15-style pistol from Cotton's car before Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority police arrived, and did not tell those officers about the firearm, according to prosecutors. After police learned of the gun, Covell handed it over.
Cotton was sentenced to nine months in prison on his vehicular assault and OVI charges in December 2024. Currently, he is due for release in September 2025, according to state prison records.
Both are scheduled for arraignment on the latest charges on March 14, court records show.
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The Cleveland Division of the FBI assisted with the investigation.
In the last few years, several East Cleveland officials, including police officers and the former police chief and the current mayor, have come under indictment on allegations of corruption, civil rights violations or other misconduct.
'Make no mistake: There has been a cancer growing in the East Cleveland Police Department,' O'Malley said in 2023. 'We are doing our best to remove every tentacle of that cancer so that this department can rebuild and grow, to put itself in a position to hire officers who enforce the law as well as follow the law.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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