Warning:
The embedded video and photographs with this article. may be upsetting to some viewers. They contain images related to a fatal confrontation with Akron police.
Body-worn camera footage, audio of a 911 call, and other records reveal key details about the Feb. 17 killing of a man by Akron police officers in the Summit Lake area of Akron.
Marcus L. Smith, a 39-year-old former University of Cincinnati professor in an apparent mental health crisis, was shot dead on Ira Avenue after fleeing a traffic stop in a stolen car and firing a gun while officers were chasing him.
The newly released video, 911 audio, and other corroborating records detail that Smith allegedly stole a car in Columbus, returned to Akron and then stole his father’s car from his father’s Ira Avenue driveway. Smith then fled a traffic stop a half mile away while firing a gun before leading police to the street in front of his father’s house, where he again fired his gun before police shot and killed him.
The Akron Police Department became involved after his father called 911 at 8:44 a.m. Monday to report that his son had just come home and stolen his car.
“My son, he has a mental problem … he’s in some kind of stage,” Smith’s father told dispatchers on that call. He reported that Smith, who lived in Cincinnati, had been staying at his house for about a week but “disappeared” that Friday after stealing his credit cards.
Smith showed up back at the Ira Avenue house on Monday morning. Smith’s father told the dispatcher that his son told him that he drove his own car to Columbus before returning to Akron in another car. Smith told his dad it was a rental, he said, but police said in a statement that the car Smith drove to Ira Avenue was stolen from Columbus just over two hours before his father called police.
His father told the dispatcher that after going to his bedroom to change clothes, he heard a door shut and saw that his son had stolen his white Toyota Camera from his driveway. The dispatcher told him police would be responding as soon as possible.
Body-worn camera footage indicates that officers attempted to pull Smith over at around 9:07 a.m. near Lakeshore Boulevard and Kenmore Boulevard but that he fled, driving the half mile back toward where records show his father lives.
Audio from the footage details officers reporting Smith fired his gun during that brief pursuit. Smith got out of his father’s car in front of his father’s house, and three gunshots can be heard, which officers said came from him.
With officers yelling at him to drop his gun, an officer fires three gun shots toward Smith and he can be seen from a distance dropping to the ground after the third shot. As police officers slowly approach the man, Smith appears to rise up as officers report that he’s still holding a gun.
Footage reveals officers then fired at least 13 more shots at Smith. It’s unclear how many actually hit him, but video shows he was shot at least once in the chest. When a group of officers reached Smith, they dragged his limp body away from the gun they said he was holding and attempted to provide CPR and other aid. Officers said they couldn’t find a pulse.
Officials with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on the scene shortly afterward and are currently investigating the shooting, as is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. The APD said three officers are on paid administrative leave, also standard procedure.
“The body worn camera footage released today underscores the dangerous situation that our officers encountered on Monday morning,” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said in a statement on Saturday.
“During the incident, officers attempted to stop Marcus Smith, who was armed and repeatedly fired a weapon. I remain very thankful that no other lives were lost in this incident. My thoughts are with all of the responding officers as they process this traumatic encounter, with the neighborhood residents who witnessed it, and with our officers who begin shifts each day knowing that they may have to respond to a similar call.”
Malik highlighted an Akron Beacon Journal article about Smith’s mental health struggles.
“For anyone who is in need of support with mental health challenges, reaching out for help is an incredibly meaningful step – for yourself and for others. Anyone in our community can start that process by calling 2-1-1 at any time or texting their zip code to 898-211 for assistance via text to be connected to resource providers.”