Already having been accused of murdering a prostitute, East Cleveland Police Detective Randy Hicks was drunk when he and another cop pulled Arnold Black over, accusing the 45-year-old Ohio man of possessing a kilo of cocaine because he was driving a truck similar to a known drug dealer.
When Hicks found no cocaine, he punched Black in the face two times while officer Jonathan O’Leary held him up, telling Black he was angry at having left the bar where he had been pounding drinks with friends.
Realizing they had left an innocent man bloodied and bruised, the two cops then transported Black to the station and stuffed him inside a storage closet to keep his injuries from going public.
Black remained in the closet for four days with no toilet, food or water except for a single carton of milk, which kicked off a three-month ordeal in 2012 when he found himself facing prison time on fabricated charges.
At one point, another East Cleveland police officer discovered Black in the closet and expressed surprise and even concern, allowing Black to use his cell phone to call his fiancee, but forcing him back into the closet after he made the call.
Black’s fiancee drove to the station to pick him up, but a cop at the front desk told her, “you can’t see people that are under investigation.”
She left and came back a second time, but was denied again after a cop told her the “jailer is on vacation.”
It eventually took an East Cleveland councilwoman to spring him from the closet, but he was then transported to an actual jail cell on fabricated cocaine charges.
Missing Dash Cam Footage
The cops even convinced a grand jury to indict him, even though they presented no evidence, only lies.
In fact, a dash cam video of the April 28, 2012 traffic stop – which not only would have shown the beating, but have shown Hicks slurring drunkenly – disappeared, never to be seen by the public.
The fabricated charges against Black were dismissed on July 19, 2012 and he filed a lawsuit, which you can read here.
On Tuesday, a jury ruled in his favor, awarding him $22 million in damages, according to Fox8 News.
But East Cleveland officials say they will appeal the decision, claiming they had no idea a trial was even taking place, pointing out that not a single East Cleveland attorney attended the three-day trial.
However, Black’s attorney, Bobby DiCello, told the Associated Press that the judge allowed the trial to proceed because all parties had been notified.
Still, East Cleveland is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, so it is unclear how it will pay Black the $22 million.
Hick resigned shortly after the lawsuit was filed and is now working as a railroad police officer, according to his LinkedIn page.
Death of a Prostitute
And Hicks was apparently was never investigated for the death of a prostitute named Sandra Varney in 2007, even though another prostitute told a television reporter in 2009 that he was the last person she was with before she died.
That prostitute, whose interview can be seen in the video below, also accused Hicks of exchanging drugs for sex with local prostitutes more than 100 times.
After that report aired, an East Cleveland police detective named Henry “Pete” McCurdy told the East Cleveland Tattler that Chief Ralph Spotts tried to thwart his investigation on Hicks.
Spotts – who has also resigned – was then accused of ordering a SWAT team raid on McCurdy’s home in retaliation, according to the Tattler.
In 2012, former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Jonathan Brewer wrote an article in the Tattler saying he tried to get the FBI to investigate Hicks for the murder of Varney, but it does not appear as if they ever did.
However, the FBI did investigate three other East Cleveland cops who ended up indicted last year for stealing money from citizens after conducting illegal searches.
The second video below shows a citizen named Art McCoy complaining to city council about Hicks being allowed to resign instead of being fired.
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