Two former East Cleveland police officers will face charges of kidnapping and felonious assault for the beating of a prisoner in their custody, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement released Friday afternoon.
The release stated that a grand jury has indicted Denayne R. Davidson-Dixon and Gerald A. Spencer II for the July 24 beating of Jesse R. Nickerson.
Both men were charged with three counts of kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, one count of conspiracy, one count of obstructing official business, one count of interfering with civil rights and two counts of dereliction of duty, according to the release.
The release also stated that: "Evidence gathered by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation shows that Mr. Nickerson and two other individuals were arrested by East Cleveland Police early that Sunday morning. Officers Davidson-Dixon and Spencer were to transport Mr. Nickerson and suspect Eddie Hughes to the East Cleveland Police Station."
"Instead, following verbal sparring with Mr. Nickerson, they detoured to Forest Hills Park. There, the officers pulled Mr. Nickerson from the squad car and assaulted him. Mr. Nickerson suffered numerous lacerations and abrasions."
McGinty said both defendants were fired by the East Cleveland Police Department shortly after this incident was reported to their superiors.
