McNeeley and Daniel Crown were arrested at 8:30 a.m. after ranger Lisette Gonzalez spotted them masturbating, Capt. Jack Hall said.
McNeeley, 60, told rangers he was going to perform oral sex on Crown, 61, but did not, according to a police report.
Crown and McNeeley were together in Crown’s car when the ranger approached and told them to stop their behavior.
McNeeley jumped in his car and tried backing up. He then moved the car back into a parking space, according to the report.
“I’m sorry,” McNeeley told the ranger. “I’m sorry. I just got scared. I shouldn’t have done that.”
McNeeley then asked the ranger to just issue him a warning. She asked him what he was doing in the park.
He blamed his behavior on the stress of his wife being diagnosed with cancer. McNeeley then told the ranger he was retired and asked if he would have to go through a complete booking process.
Crown, of Brooklyn, told rangers he and McNeeley were talking about the weather.
On the way to the ranger station, McNeeley told the ranger he was a retired human-resources worker in Cleveland. But Ranger Sgt. Gerald McFaul Jr., son of former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul, told the ranger that McNeeley was a former police commander and current police chief, the report states.
Hall said McNeeley did not try to use his police badge to avoid being arrested.
“He never presented his police identification at all,” Hall said.
McNeeley and Crown were each charged with public indecency, a third-degree misdemeanor, and were scheduled to appear in Parma Municipal Court on May 5. Both men posted a personal bond and were released.
McNeeley was a longtime police commander in Cleveland and was briefly considered a successor to McFaul before deciding not to pursue the sheriff’s office.
McNeeley and Crown did not return calls seeking comment.
Olmsted Township police are standing behind McNeeley.
“The department remains supportive of our chief and unequivocally acknowledges Chief McNeeley is the best chief this department and the community has ever had,” Lt. John Minek wrote in a news release. “We as a department stand united and pledge our support to Chief McNeeley and his family during this uneasy time.”
