[Attached video: Previous FOX 8 I-Team coverage]
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — A Cleveland Heights family has issued a statement now that a grand jury has indicted the Mayor’s wife on charges she walked into that family’s home.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutors filed the indictment Friday, and the City released police body camera video of police questioning Natalie McDaniel, wife of Cleveland Hts. Mayor Khalil Seren.
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The statement said, “On July 30th, Natalie McDaniel unlawfully entered our home. Since then, we have felt uncomfortable in our home and our city. The mayor and his staff have intentionally spread misinformation and outright lies in the media and to the community. He has slandered us, the Cleveland Heights police force, Chief Britton, and the city as a whole.”
It went on to say, “We are incredibly grateful to the Cuyahoga County grand jury, the county prosecutor’s office, and to the Cleveland Heights Police Department for continuing to serve the community with courage and professionalism. We are happy this case is one step closer towards its conclusion.”
On Friday, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Natalie McDaniel. She faces one felony charge of trespass in a habitation and a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass.
Police body camera video shows Cleveland Hts. officers on the day they investigated the case. You see McDaniel making very animated gestures describing what, she says, happened.
On the video, McDaniel also denies stepping into the home of strangers.
According to prosecutors, video surveillance appears to show McDaniel inside a home without permission on the morning of July 30.
The footage, recorded at about 10:37 a.m., shows McDaniel approaching a residence on Coventry Road from the sidewalk. She is seen walking into the front yard, bending down and appearing to take a photo of a yard sign calling for the recall of her husband, Mayor Seren.
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McDaniel then approached the front door of the home, walked directly to the wrought iron door and entered the residence without permission, prosecutors said. She remained inside for about 17 seconds before exiting.
She was on the property for about three-and-a-half minutes in total.
The statement from the residents of that home also said, “There have been countless calls for Mayor Seren to step down from his position and take accountability for his actions. We believe now more than ever the time has come.”
The residents who saw the incident on their security system called the Cleveland Heights Police Department.
Seren held an hour-long press conference last week to discuss the issue.
The mayor said his wife was looking for a contractor at the house to ask about flooring. He said she knocked on the door and then when the door opened, she reached in to close it. He said she never walked inside the house. He said officers detained her for a couple of hours and took her cell phone as part of the investigation.
Cleveland Heights Police Chief Chris Britton said many of the recent statements the mayor made about the police department are not true.
“The mayor’s response to the investigation into his wife’s recent behavior reveals his true colors,” the chief wrote. “Instead of treating Cleveland Heights’ police officers like the dedicated public servants they are, Mayor Seren implied that I — and CHPD as a whole — are racially biased. There is absolutely no factual basis for any such claim. Again, it is merely an attempt to distract and deflect.”
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Since the trespassing allegations involved the mayor’s wife, the police department asked for an outside investigation. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the matter.
McDaniel will have to appear soon in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
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