Raleigh police chief discusses alleged sex crimes of Raleigh police officer

Thank you director

What I'm about to share with you today is both

troubling and disgraceful

On September 26th the State Bureau of Investigation contacted me

here at the Raleigh Police Department and informed me that

they were conducting a criminal investigation

Into one of our officers later identified as a Mr

Tremel T R E M A L E Cogdale C

O G D E L L

The investigation revealed that during the early morning hours on

September 12 2025

Mr

Cockdale encountered a victim during a crash investigation here in

Raleigh

After completing a call for service Mr

Cockdale drove the victim back to his personal residence

In a city of Raleigh police vehicle and a sexual

encounter occurred

While Mr

Cockdale was on duty

On the same day we were notified of this investigation

Mr

Cogdale was immediately placed on administrative leave

And we began an internal administration investigation that paralleled the

criminal investigation already underway by the North Carolina State Bureau

of Investigation

This morning Mr

Cogdale was terminated by the Raleigh Police Department

In coordination with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation

Ms

Cogdale was arrested and processed on the following charges

Felony obstruction of justice

Misdemeanor willful neglect of duties

And felony sexual misconduct of a person in custody

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

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

The actions that led to Mr

Cogdale'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

But I want to be clear This arrest does not

define who we are

It does not erase the professionalism the integrity and the

commitment that our officers demonstrate every single day in the

service to the people here in Raleigh

We are resilient department

We will not be broken by this moment

We will be strengthened by our response to it

We will continue to serve with honor

We will continue to uphold the values that this community

expects and deserves

Transparency Justice And trust To our community members

Your trust means everything to us here at the Raleigh

Police Department

If you ever have concerns if you witness or suspect

any misconduct by a member of the Raleigh Police Department

I urge you to contact our internal affairs unit

Accountability is just not a policy it is a priority

of mine

And your voice is essential in helping us uphold that

priority and maintain the standards that we set for ourselves

I want to sincerely commend the North Carolina State Bureau

of Investigation

Our own Raleigh Police Department internal affairs unit

And the Wake County District attorney's office for their unwavering

dedication and swift action in this deeply troubling case

Their commitment to justice especially in such a painful and

difficult situation reflects the highest standards of law enforcement and

public service

We will continue to be professional

And serving the public here in Raleigh We will continue

to uphold justice

And treating all individuals with dignity and respect as we

carry out our duties

Thank you and at this time I'll take a few

questions

We're gonna begin over here with CBS

How are you alerted to

That's a great question

We received a tip that came in and based on

that tip State Bureau of Investigation Wake County District Attorney's

office and Raleigh Police Department worked in conjunction

To act on that tip that we received

Spectrum Uh ABC OK

Um have there been any prior complaints about this officer

conduct that have forced the department to review fire arrests

or fire uh interactions with victims or individuals you're coming

across or a member of the public Yeah we're looking

into all that right now

This this officer like say under investigation from a criminal

perspective as well as an administrative investigation within the police

department we're gonna look into that

In any earlier discipline would have to be through the

city

Um when can you tell me how long the police

officer worked there and then also could you talk a

little bit about he was giving the victim a ride

home Can you tell me just elaborate a little bit

more about that or those circumstances I can share the

first which I can answer your first question

Uh Mr

Treme Cogdale was hired on June 27th of 2022

He was a first class officer

His employment ended today here at the city of Raleigh

the Raleigh Police Department and he was assigned to our

field operations division downtown district

Sir

Is the officer in former officer in custody

He is he's been transported to the Wake County jail

and processed on those three charges that I mentioned earlier

Um

With the other cases he may have been involved with

during his 3 years what will happen with them Can

we trust the integrity of the other cases he was

involved in Everything right now involving that officer is being

under review is under review now with the Wake County

District Attorney's office as well as the Raleigh Police Department

internal affairs unit

Yes Possibility he could face additional charges

This is an ongoing investigation it's a possibility but this

this case is ongoing right now

No I want to know is there anything else that

you wanted to say to people who may be feeling

frustrated or concerned about this from a trust standpoint

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 gonna be transparent and I was gonna

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 gonna hold each

and every officer and professional staff accountable for their behaviors

here at the Raleigh Police Department

Chief generally speaking it's standard procedure for an officer to

provide uh to a crash victim back to their resident

or another location just if people are in these situations

That's not sexual in nature

How do people kind of navigate that situation

It is a case by case scenario

We investigate a motor vehicle crash where a victim need

a ride uh to a safe space

We will provide that ride to them

Yes sir

The incident that happened the crash were there any charges

or investigation into that or was this just a simple

crash Was it involving alcohol What was the around the

incident itself This was a motor vehicle crash

I don't have the details of that specific case but

it involved a vehicle collision here in the city of

Raleigh

Thank you again

If you guys have any other follow-up questions feel free

to email RP Public Affairs and we will gladly look

into that question

Thank you

Thank you