In a decisive move by East Cleveland Mayor Lateek Shabazz, the city's Deputy Safety Director, Mansell Baker, was fired from his position on Friday after a series of alleged violations questioning his adherence to municipal boundaries and policies; among the cited issues was the unauthorized wearing of a "Chief of Police" badge and the falsification of his oath of office to include the title "Safety Director," as reported by Cleveland19 News and FOX8 News.
The termination follows a chain of purported transgressions where Baker, according to Mayor Shabazz's letter detailed in coverage by WKYC, allegedly engaged in behavior outside his official scope, engaging in a vehicular pursuit that ended in Euclid and taking a city-issued police vehicle beyond city limits and responding to emergency calls while armed, despite the absence of police authority or commission his role's authority stop there, Shabazz took issue with Baker's decision to identify as the Safety Director, a title reportedly not officially conferred to him.
After the termination, Baker released a personal statement saying, "I will continue to support our city officials, residents, and business community," he expressed his commitment to the community and hinted at a change in treatment following recent election results, which saw a notably large margin lead by Sandra Morgan in the mayoral primary over Shabazz, according to Baker's statement obtained by several news outlets including Cleveland19 News and WKYC.
