FBI seeking potential victims in investigation of former Raleigh police officer
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- FBI seeks victims and witnesses in civil‑rights probe of former Raleigh officer.
- Cogdell charged with multiple felonies including sexual misconduct and obstruction.
- FBI asks potential victims to use online form with contact info and incident details.
The FBI is looking to find and identify potential victims of a former Raleigh police officer charged with soliciting prostitution and engaging in a “sexual encounter” while on duty.
Tremale Cogdell, 28, of Raleigh, was charged with seven counts of felony sexual misconduct of a person in custody, felony obstruction of justice and misdemeanor willful neglect of duties on Oct. 3 after law enforcement say he had a “sexual encounter” with a woman in exchange for not conducting a driving while impaired investigation.
Later in October, Cogdell was charged with five counts of felony soliciting prostitution, felony obstruction of justice, felony sexual activity by a custodian and misdemeanor willful failure to discharge duties, according to court records.
“The FBI is now conducting a federal civil rights investigation and is asking potential victims or witnesses allegedly encountered or coerced by Cogdell to come forward,” according to an FBI news release on Thursday.
Cogdell may have targeted women while on duty as a Raleigh police officer between May 2023 and September 2025, according to the FBI.
The form to contact the FBI can be found online at forms.fbi.gov/victims/FormerOfficerVictims/view. People are asked to provide their name, address, contact information and if they encouraged Cogdell and if he solicited “any sort of act by you or your dependent in exchange for dropping or not bringing charges.”
The form also has additional resources for potential victims including resources from DOJ Office for Victims of Crimes and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Networks.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation told the Raleigh Police Department it was investigating Cogdell on Sept. 26, 2025, according Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce during a fall news conference. Cogdell was placed on administrative leave that day and fired on Oct. 3.
Cogdell was hired by the Raleigh Police Department on July 27, 2022, and his salary was $67,867 at the time of his dismissal.
In October, Boyce praised the woman who first came forward.
“What has happened is not only troubling, it is disgraceful,” he said. “I am angry and disheartened, both as a police chief and as a member of this community.”
