Ohio Inspector General’s Office: State park officers released wanted felon in Cleveland neighborhood

CLEVELAND - Two state park officers are under investigation after being accused of releasing a wanted felon into a residential neighborhood in Cleveland.

The Ohio Inspector General’s Office said that two officers were patrolling Lakefront State Park in Cleveland where they arrested LeEdward Hicks. Hicks had open felony theft warrants from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

“After transporting the prisoner to the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, the park officers entered the public lobby but refused to follow the Cuyahoga County Jail intake procedure which requires all law enforcement officers to escort prisoners to the intake area where the prisoner is booked,” a news release from the Ohio Inspector General said on Friday.

Instead of following the process, the park officers put Hicks back in their patrol car and took him to East 55th Street and St. Clair Avenue. The inspector general said that’s where they removed his handcuffs and let him walk away.

Hicks is still on the loose, according to the inspector general’s office.

The issue was reported to the inspector general by the Ohio Department of Natural Recourses.