Nearly five months ago, Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell released his first report on police use of force. It was deeply critical of an incident where an Akron police officer body slammed and arrested a Kenmore woman inside her home.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and the Akron Police Department still have not told Finnell what, if anything, they will do about it.
That’s despite Malik telling Finnell and Citizens’ Police Oversight Board Chair Kemp Boyd in a July 10 meeting that he would respond by August to Finnell’s April report that detailed issues surrounding what happened to Dierra Fields, who was acquitted at trial in June.
Signal Akron recently reported about the mayor and other city officials not addressing Finnell’s report. The story also examined the ambiguity about the next steps in the oversight process, which were not laid out in the charter amendment that created the CPOB and Finnell’s role.
In that July meeting, Malik also pledged a 45-day response window for Finnell’s reports.
No response as of Tuesday morning
On Tuesday around noon, Finnell and Boyd both confirmed that they still had not heard about any response to the report and recommendations. Finnell said last week “the public is waiting” on a response. Boyd called the inaction “disappointing” but not necessarily surprising or an intentional stall tactic given the newness of the oversight system.
Later that day, Signal Akron reached out to the mayor’s office for comment about the lack of response. Before comment was provided, Police Chief Brian Harding contacted Finnell and told him a response should be coming shortly, with a specific promise that the police department would respond to the Fields’ report by the end of September.
“We had hoped the first [response] would be completed by the end of August however we can confirm it will be done by the end of September,” said Stephanie Marsh, the mayor’s spokesperson, Tuesday via email at 6:41 p.m.
“Chief Harding has notified Mr. Finnell of this timeframe. As we build the process for how the city administration interacts with this new office, we are trying to take our time to get it right. This reflects how seriously Mayor Malik takes the Issue 10 charter amendment and its goal of strengthening police community relations.”
Marsh also said Malik’s commitment in July to respond to Finnell’s reports was for future reports because his office was already beyond a 45-day window on the Fields’ report at that point.
Finnell confirmed to Signal Akron on Tuesday night that he and Harding spoke that afternoon. They “are working to finalize a draft” response, he said, and “I’m confident I will be providing an update soon.”
Responses to auditor, CPOB not required by law
Akron voters adopted the charter amendment known as Issue 10 after Jayland Walker’s death in 2022. It created a civilian police oversight board along with the independent police auditor role to investigate police misconduct and suggest policy changes. Malik, while he was a City Council member, was a major proponent of the charter amendment.
But, as Signal Akron reported in June, the law voters adopted includes nothing about what is supposed to happen after the auditor issues reports to the mayor, police department and Akron City Council.
“As far as what the next steps are, that’s where everything is up in the air because the charter doesn’t address the next steps,” Finnell told Signal Akron at the time. “The charter talks about recommending policy changes, but it doesn’t talk about what’s to be done after those recommendations are made.”
Simply put: Under city law, the mayor and police department are under no obligation to do anything. They don’t even have to read Finnell’s reports and recommendations.
Malik: Auditor, CPOB for feedback, not policymaking or disciplinary decisions
In June, Malik said that the independent police auditor position and the CPOB exist to provide “feedback” on policing and were never intended to have any say in policymaking or disciplinary decisions.
“The goal of the oversight board is not to create an alternative management structure for the police department,” Malik said. “It’s to create a voice that has independence and information that can then weigh in. And then it is up to the elected officials to address those concerns…. The onus is on the elected officials and public officials who are actually managing the safety forces day to day to then respond as they see fit.”
In that interview, Malik also promised forthcoming responses.
“It is the commitment of my administration that we will respond to reports and recommendations that we’ve received,” he said. “It will always be my commitment, and that is a commitment I can make as mayor. I view it as a burden and expectation that voters have placed upon this office, and I take it extraordinarily seriously.”
Malik later met with Finnell and Boyd – along with Harding and Law Director Deborah Matz – where, for the first time, he laid out concrete plans to provide responses.
