WARREN - A lawsuit seeking more than $1 million  was filed against the City of Warren and its Chief of Police Erik Merkel in reference to a former city police officer convicted of several sexual charges, including rape.

The latest suit was filed in federal court on Wednesday, February 18 regarding former officer Michael Edwards Jr., who was convicted in 2024 of sexually assaulting multiple women over the course of several years.

Edwards is serving a prison sentence of 34 to 39 years.

Prosecutors said that Edwards preyed on multiple women struggling with issues like drug or alcohol addiction, with most of them resorting to prostitution at some point.

The suit was filed by a woman who said in 2019, Edwards had entered a temporary residence she had been staying at while in uniform, asked her to go into a room to talk with him and sexually assaulted her without her consent.

The suit alleges that this conduct continued for at least two years, even after she had left the residence.

The suit slams the city and Chief Merkel, alleging that the defendants were aware of, or should reasonably have been aware of, Edwards's conduct prior to his arrest based on firsthand knowledge and citizen complaints.

"Despite knowing about their officers engaging in illegal sexual conduct for years, the defendants did nothing to investigate, prevent or otherwise address the ongoing abuse," the suit reads.

"Edwards was and/or should have been widely known to be violent and sexually inappropriate towards citizens, but was never adequately disciplined to actually correct his ongoing and commonplace conduct and protect the citizens of Warren from his tactics," it continues.

The suit goes on to state that neither the city nor Chief Merkel has initiated any policy reviews or culture reforms regarding inappropriate sexual behavior within the police department.

The suit demands $1 million in damages, as well as punitive damages to be determined by the court  and a trial by jury on this matter.

A similar lawsuit was filed against the city and Chief Merkel in July of 2025 by a Niles woman who accused Edwards of asking her to follow him to his cruiser where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Like the new suit, the July suit states that Merkel and the city failed to investigate serious complaints against Edwards in his personnel file dating back to at least 2019.

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