For the first time since the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board was created in the wake of Jayland Walker’s killing, the city’s independent police auditor is challenging the Akron Police Department’s use of force.
Signal Akron reported last week that Officer Thomas Shoemaker body slammed and arrested a woman named Dierra Fields in her Kenmore home earlier this year. An internal investigation cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.
According to documents obtained by Signal Akron, the sergeant conducting the investigation found the force to be “objectively reasonable” and said that “Shoemaker’s actions were not only justified, but reserved as well. It would have been very easy for someone in the same situation to lose their patience and react in a way that would reflect poorly on the Akron Police Department.”
At Wednesday night’s CPOB meeting, Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell, who started his job on March 25, took issue with the APD’s internal findings.
“I examined that incident and, in short, I did not concur with the assessment and review of the APD internal affairs unit,” he told the board.
A full report will be released on Thursday morning, but Finnell submitted four recommendations to Acting Chief Brian Harding, Mayor Shammas Malik’s office, the city’s law department, and the CPOB.
Finnell suggested changing the “objectively reasonable” finding of the use of force involving the body slam to “not objectively reasonable” and to “take appropriate disciplinary action as warranted by such a disposition.”
The auditor recommended that the APD conduct an internal affairs investigation into Shoemaker and Sgt. Timothy Shmigal, who was also inside the home and recorded the incident on his body-worn camera.
Finnell wants Shoemaker investigated for not following domestic violence procedures, for violating de-escalation policies, for “failure to document or report reportable use of force,” and also for issues with “custody, detention, and arrest.”
Shmigal should be investigated, he said, for violating de-escalation policies, for failing to document and report a use of force, and for failing to “intercede” in the force.
“I’m glad Auditor Finnell is doing his thing,” said Fields’ defense attorney, Imokhai Okolo, after Wednesday’s meeting. City of Akron prosecutors are prosecuting Fields for resisting arrest and obstructing official business, charges Okolo believes she’s facing to keep the city from being found liable in a potential civil lawsuit.
“It’s clear that he’s coming here and he’s doing exactly what people intended Issue 10 to be about,” he said. “It validates the community that we’re not out here all crazy, we’re not out here making stuff up. There’s a problem here and, slowly but surely, the whole thing will be exposed.”
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik turned over files related to the case to Finnell late last month after Signal Akron requested comment from the law department about the incident.
“As one of the authors of the Issue 10 amendment which created the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board, I want to see this process play out and work as it was intended,” Malik said in a statement prior to Signal Akron’s first story on Dierra Fields.
“My hope is that the Board’s input and feedback on this incident will help facilitate a robust community discussion about what we want to see from policing here in Akron. My administration is committed to accountability and transparency, and we will continue to share developments around policy and culture change in the weeks, months, and years ahead,” Malik said.