Attorney Bob Gippin, an influential original member of Akron’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board who sometimes clashed with the mayor’s office and the police union in his advocacy for stronger police accountability systems, will likely be replaced on the oversight board by a retired Akron police officer when Akron City Council votes on new board members as soon as next week.
“This is the result of the FOP’s opposition. There’s no doubt about that,” Gippin said of Akron’s police union – known as the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 — on Monday morning after City Council legislation showed he was not nominated for any of the four available seats on the nine-member board.
“I’ve been talking about this, frankly, for months with members of council, and I know the FOP has been very, very strongly opposed to me continuing, and I cannot think of any other reason why this would have happened.”
Gippin said the FOP’s efforts to get him off the board remind him of City Council’s rejection of attorney Imokhai Okolo’s appointment in 2023 amid pressure from the police union. FOP Lodge #7 President Brian Lucey told Signal Akron that he was not opposed to or in favor of any CPOB candidates.
“Didn’t lobby against him,” Lucey said on Monday morning. “I don’t think that Bob did a good job on the board, though.”
City Council Member Brad McKitrick, chair of the Public Safety Committee, wouldn’t say why they didn’t reappoint Gippin or if the FOP was involved.
“All was discussed while in executive session,” McKitrick said in an email about the closed-door meetings City Council holds to discuss personnel decisions.
Anuszkiewicz recommended for reappointment
City Council, which appointed Gippin to the CPOB more than two years ago when the board was created by Akron voters in the wake of Jayland Walker’s killing, recommended in a resolution that Vice Chair Donzella Anuszkiewicz be reappointed to her expired seat but recommended that Gippin be effectively replaced with Juanita Elton.
Elton’s resume indicates that she joined the Akron Police Department as a patrol officer in 1992 and left as a detective in 2011. Her resume indicates she works as a family liaison for Akron Public Schools.
City Council President Margo Sommerville said during Monday’s Public Safety Committee meeting that it was important to keep Anuszkiewicz for continuity’s sake, while she was impressed with Elton’s “background on criminal justice.” “Her balanced approach between police and community would be a really great asset to the board,” Sommerville said.
Two new members recommended by mayor’s office to fill vacancies
While Gippin and Anuszkiewicz’s first terms are up, the board also has two additional vacancies to fill left by the mid-term resignations of members Crystal Jones and Beverly Richards. Gippin was also passed over by Akron Mayor Shammas Malik’s office, which nominated two people with close ties to Akron’s safety forces among their many other roles in the community.
According to their resumes, Christopher Weems has been a member of the “Akron Police Chief’s Citizen Advisory Board” since 2021 and has partnered with the APD in food distribution efforts, while Duane Crabbs is a former Akron firefighter and current chaplain for the fire department and the Summit County Jail.
City Council did not vote on the candidates at their regular meeting Monday — the Public Safety Committee hopes to bring in the four named candidates to testify next week. The mayor’s office and members of City Council responsible for screening candidates (other than McKitrick) have not yet responded to requests for comment about Gippin.
In the more than two years Gippin has served on the board, he was instrumental in helping the board clear often obtuse procedural hurdles and establish its rules before it could begin to review cases of police use of force.
He was a staunch advocate for more authoritative investigatory powers for the board (a proposal that had to be watered down to get City Council approval) and was a major advocate for hiring Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell. He fought for the CPOB to have independent legal counsel separate from city attorneys who also represent the police department, and he was the most involved CPOB member in reviewing and approving Finnell’s reports on APD use of force, which drew the ire of the police union.
“I think there’s been some success in bringing about change in policing, and I think I’ve played a role in that and would continue the effort,” Gippin said. “The FOP, since they do not want change, they see it to their advantage for someone who is working for it to not be reappointed.”
On Monday, CPOB Chair Kemp Boyd lauded Gippin’s involvement with the board and his status as one of “the original nine” board members.
“I don’t know if we would be where we are without the involvement of Bob Gippin,” Boyd said. “Bob is going to be missed, and we are very appreciative of Bob’s service on our board and his service to our community as a whole. I’ve learned a lot from Bob and what he’s been able to give our board.”