Tremale Stephon Cogdell, 28, was charged with a sexual act by a government employee and obstruction of justice, as well as willfully failing to discharge duties.
Boyce said Cogdell encountered the female victim on Sept. 12, early in the morning, during a crash investigation in Raleigh. He then took her back to his home in a Raleigh police car, and "a sexual encounter occurred" while he was on duty.
"What has happened is not only troubling, it is disgraceful. I am angry and disheartened both as a police chief and as a member of this community," said Boyce.
Court documents allege that Cogdell failed "to conduct and charge a DWI investigation in exchange for sexual acts. This offense was done in secrecy and malice."
"The actions that led to Mr. Cogdell's arrest reflect poorly on the Raleigh Police Department and cast a shadow on the integrity that we worked so hard to uphold. This is a reminder that no one is above accountability, not even those who wear the badge," Boyce said.
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Cogdell was hired by the department on June 27, 2022, and served as a First Class Officer working in the Field Operations Division of the Downtown District. ABC 11 has submitted a Public Records Request to the City of Raleigh, seeking additional information about his employment history.
"I want to applaud the victim for coming forward in this case and offer my heartfelt support to her, her family, and to anyone who has been affected by this deeply disturbing incident," said Boyce.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) contacted the Raleigh Police Department on Sept. 26 about an alleged incident earlier in the month. Boyce said Cogdell was put on administrative leave that same day.
"The Cato Institute back in 2010 did a report on this, and they found that right after excessive force, sexual assaults and sexual misconduct were the second most reported type of police misconduct, "said Lauren Bonds, Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project.
Bonds pointed to reforms enacted by lawmakers and police departments over the past five years in combating the issue.
"I think there's been a real recognition that there's the opportunity to abuse power in this situation. What you see (on) the front end is police departments taking it more seriously by taking extra steps and making sure that it's clear to officers that any kind of conduct of this nature is prohibited. But then you also are seeing it being taken more seriously from an investigative perspective as well, after the fact or after there's a complaint," Bonds explained.
She discussed the importance of the public addressing the allegations and engaging in transparency.
"I think it's essential for there to be transparency in these situations. If there's ever going to be any kind of public confidence that that there will be accountability. So, yes, it's difficult, and there are a lot of outs that police leadership and police chiefs can take. But just kind of going back to that question of what is a victim supposed to do, how are they going to be able to even take the steps to seek justice, showing that (this) is important to police leadership and that they are going to take it seriously and hold their officers accountable is just critical for that reason," said Bonds.
"I'm disturbed about this. It bothers me as a member of this community, as the chief. It's not easy for me to stand up here and say that I arrested one of my officers. When I was selected as chief, I promised this community that I was going to be transparent and I was going to hold people accountable no matter who they are. I hope today reflects that I'm keeping my word and making sure that we're transparent as a department and that I'm going to hold each and every officer and professional staff accountable for their behaviors here," Boyce said.
Cogdell is charged with felony obstruction of justice, misdemeanor willful neglect of duty and felony sexual misconduct of a person in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
RPD is conducting an internal investigation, and a criminal investigation is underway at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
If anyone has additional information or believes they may have had an inappropriate encounter with Cogdell, they are asked to contact the NC SBI.
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