Freedom BLOC Executive Director Ray Greene Jr. believes the body slam and arrest of a Black woman exemplifies the Akron Police Department’s pattern of violent, “gang-type behavior.”
For Greene, the latest acceptance of such force by city leaders — including Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and Police Chief Brian Harding — has eroded community trust.
“Mayor Malik and Chief Harding have turned a deaf ear to the cries of the community, dismissing the very reforms that Akron so desperately needs,” Greene said.
On Monday, Greene, attorney and organizer Imokhai Okolo and Akron NAACP President Judi Hill spoke out against Harding’s recent rejection of the findings of Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell. In his report, Finnell called for, among other options, disciplinary actions against the officers involved in the body slam and arrest of Dierra Fields.
Two weeks after Harding rejected the police auditor’s first-ever report which criticized the police department, the trio of prominent community organizers and racial justice advocates called for the U.S. Department of Justice and Summit County’s elected officials to investigate. They believe the police chief’s approval of tactics utilized by a police officer to body slam Fields — and her ensuing arrest — is indicative of systemic issues involving the treatment of Black residents.
“Where are the changes?” Hill asked. “All we want are the changes.
“It’s time to see the systemic changes in the policing policies in the City of Akron. It’s time for city officials to make the changes needed to keep our residents safe.”
Greene and Okolo also want Harding to resign or be fired.
Fields sat among the trio during the press conference, but did not speak publicly.
Greene and Okolo had strong words for Malik, saying the response from the police chief he hired went against his “Together for Akron” mayoral campaign, which promised “community policing” and “strengthening trust between police and the community through transparency, accountability, and relationship building.”
‘They can physically assault a Black woman in this city without repercussions’
Okolo said despite Finnell’s April findings that rebuked the APD for the Fields incident, her acquittal at a criminal trial in June and consistent outcry from community members since the incident became public, Harding’s response continues “this ugly tradition of justifying actions of members of his department regardless of the truth.”
Okolo deemed it “a clear insult to our intelligence and a slap in the face to every single resident of the City of Akron.”
Okolo said Harding’s leadership during this period sent a message to Akron police officers: They can physically assault Black women without repercussions.
“Chief Harding has shown that he is incapable of changing the culture in this police department that he was groomed in,” said Okolo, who represented Fields during her criminal trial. “He is incapable of holding his friends accountable for the harm they inflict, and for that reason, he must be fired.”
Akron mayor’s specific stance on Harding’s ruling unclear
When Malik took office earlier this year, he restructured the police chief position to include it in his cabinet. He then hired Harding in a controversial, internal-only process.
On Sept. 30, Malik forwarded Finnell a copy of Harding’s four-page rejection of the auditor’s recommendations and, without mentioning Fields or Harding’s response directly, acknowledged in a memo the existence of a “recurring concern” about the department’s use of force and resisting arrest policy.
Malik said his administration would conduct a review of the policy, adding that he wants the independent police auditor’s office to be involved.
The mayor, meanwhile, has not publicly articulated his stance in the Fields incident, or stated his position on Finnell’s report — in favor or against. He told Signal Akron last spring he would discuss his “own perspective” once the auditor completed a review (which was finalized in April) and Fields’ criminal case was completed (She was acquitted in June).
Since Harding issued his report earlier this month, Signal Akron has sought clarification from Malik’s office at least six times. On Monday, Signal Akron again sought clarification on his stance, asking:
-If Malik viewed what happened to Fields to be reasonable or unreasonable
-If he agreed or disagreed with the independent police auditor’s criticisms
-If he agreed or disagreed with his police chief’s rejection of those criticisms
-If Harding’s response should be considered his response
Malik was also asked to explain the “recurring concerns” he mentioned in the memo.
The mayor’s office declined to answer.
