Courtney is a digital producer at News 5. She loves all things Cleveland and is a huge sports fan.
On Thursday morning, Akron released a use-of-force report on the city's police department. Last year, the city partnered with the Police Executive Research Forum to investigate Akron 's use of force.
RELATED: Akron introduces new partnership to review police use-of-force policyThe report identifies a total of 58 recommendations that fall into five categories:Modernizing use of force policies. Strengthening transparency and public accountability. Improving investigations, oversight, and critical incident review. Building an organizational mindset of training, judgment, and de‑escalation.
Enhancing safety, medical response, and organizational capacity. Recommendations include: Pointing a weapon at someone revised as use-of-forcePolice department explicitly incorporate the principle of proportionality into its UOF policy statement Officers have the option to retreat. Head strikes prohibitedAn officer-created jeopardy clause Officers have expanded duty to intervene when they see a fellow officer inappropriately using forceAccording to the report, officers have been involved in seven nonfatal shootings and seven fatal shootings since 2019, including Jayland Walker.
RELATED: Timeline: Jayland Walker deadly shooting'We need these reports to keep that accountability and transparency,' attorney Bobby DiCello told News 5. DiCello represented the Walker family and told News 5 that some of the report's contents are troubling. He pointed out that it says Akron Police reviewed 301 use-of-force incidents and found only one out of policy.
The report noted that the low number raises 'serious concerns' about how almost every uniformed officer in the department belongs to the same union.
“It means the supervisor might negotiate for what they need or what they want for their department and the one they supervise are all on the same team, which creates kind of a conflict of interest,' DiCello said. 'You want your supervisors to be able to speak freely. You want your low level officers to speak freely about how they are being supervised. When they're all part of the same group, it creates a problem.
”To read the full report and view the dashboard showing the progress the city says it has made on the recommendations, CLICK HERE. By the end of the year, Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan said they hope to have implemented 42 or 43 of the policies mentioned in the report. The rest, which mainly involves training and long-term professional development, they hope to complete in 2027.
In response, Akron FOP President Brian Lucey issued a detailed statement deeply critical of the report, challenging the effectiveness and Constitutionality of the changes recommended in the review.
'When local policy is more demanding than what the Supreme Court itself requires, officers are left guessing where the line is — and the city's left writing the checks when they guess wrong,' wrote Lucey. He told News 5 they have already argued that more than 20 of the recommendations need to be bargained with the union first before being put into effect.
The report also found that the police department was understaffed by more than a dozen officers and is 'disproportionately young.
' It detailed how the department is budgeted for 455-470 sworn officers but is operating with 432. Of those, 31% have less than five years of experience.
'These officers aren't rooted in the Akron Police Department,' Lucey said. 'If these are young officers who have an opportunity to go somewhere else and not be held to an impossible standard, they're probably going to do that. We had resignations at an all-time high two years ago. '
Jayland Walker PERF Police Executive Research Forum Fatal Shootings Use Of Force Report
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