EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — East Cleveland Police Chief Brian Gerhard has resigned more than six months after he was accused of sharing racist, antisemitic, and homophobic memes and images.
3News obtained a copy of the separation agreement signed by Gerhard, his attorney, Mayor Brandon King, and Law Director Willa Hemmons. There is no mention of the allegations against Gerhard anywhere in the document, however his resignation is described as "voluntary" with no wrongdoing admitted to by either side. Gerhard will also forfeit his right to work as a city employee ever again and will also not be able to sue East Cleveland for financial damages.
When reached by WKYC for further comment, Hemmons said that "The Agreement is in lieu of completing the investigation" into Gerhard's alleged misconduct.
While Gerhard will technically remain a member of the East Cleveland Police Department through Dec. 15, it appears he will not return to work, instead using his accrued vacation days to collect his full salary and benefits until then. Gerhard has been suspended from his role since January, with Captain Kenneth Lundy serving as acting chief for the time being.
Gerhard, who was born and raised in East Cleveland, has been a member of the city's police force since 1998. He became chief in October of 2022 following the suspension and eventual arrest of Scott Gardner, who was accused of theft and tax fraud.
Gerhard's promotion came at a low point for the police department, which has seen more than a dozen current or former officers (including Gardner) arrested or convicted for a slew of possible crimes. At the time, King expressed his frustrations at a city law that requires him to hire a chief internally, but still lauded Gerhard as "the right person to rebuild this department and give confidence back inside and outside of this city."
"I want it to feel safe here. I don't want perspective officers to be afraid to apply here," Gerhard told 3News on the eve of his becoming chief. "We are not a corrupt police department. We have a couple city individuals who are quick to call the media and say, 'The police department's broken.' Well, yeah, on paper it looks like it is."
Things took a turn last December, however, when attorneys representing ex-East Cleveland Officer Demarkco Johnson in a separate criminal bribery case leaked a number of bigoted messages they claim were sent by Gerhard over his phone. While WKYC has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the texts, the pictures showed them coming from a number linked to Gerhard's name, and they contained, among other things:
- Stereotypically offensive caricatures of Jews.
- Memes featuring Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, including one declaring him to be "right about the Jews."
- Other antisemitic slurs and phrases such as, "American presidents are slaves to the Jews."
- Several anti-Black images, including at least one featuring the n-word and another of a police car with watermelons for wheels.
- Multiple homophobic memes, including an anti-LGBT quote purported to be from former Nazi SS Officer Klaus Barbie.
The city of East Cleveland has not yet shared its plans for Gerhard's permanent replacement. 3News is attempting to make contact with Gerhard's attorney, but the former chief previously told Cleveland.com his texts were "a bad taste at humor."