Editor's note:
This article contains descriptions of police-related violence.
Akron police released surveillance and body-worn camera footage Saturday afternoon from an Aug. 17 incident where a police officer fatally shot a 54-year-old man, Michael Jones, while investigating an alleged stolen car in Kenmore.
According to a press release from the Akron Police Department after the shooting, officers observed what they said was a stolen car, since identified as a U-Haul truck, in the parking lot of a gas station in the 2200 block of East Avenue at around 1:04 a.m.
The surveillance camera from the gas station shows the truck parked next to a gas pump as the police vehicle pulls into the lot and then pulls behind the truck. One of the officers exits his vehicle and walks up to the driver-side door of the truck as it starts to move forward.
He raps on the window and tells Jones, the driver, to “Stop,” opens the vehicle’s door and directs Jones to “just hop out of the car for me.”
Jones, who is wearing a surgical mask, reaches across his lap with his left hand and unbuckles his seat belt. The officer gestures and again tells Jones to get out of the car.
Jones asks “what’s going on?” and the officer again directs him to get out of the car. Jones asks what’s going on again.
“Listen to me,” the first officer says. “You’re under arrest. Get out of the car.”
Jones asks, “For what?”
Officers attempt to handcuff Jones; the truck pulls forward
The second officer slides in front of the first and grabs Jones. A scuffle ensues – one officer shouts, “Do not!,” the other yells, “Don’t f…ing do it.” The officers struggle to get Jones in handcuffs. A car horn blares in the background.
About five seconds into the scuffle, based on the gas station’s security camera, the truck moves forward with the officers hanging out of the doorway and turns right as it exits the drive in front of the gas station.
One of the officers shouts a question, “Do you wanna go back to f…ing (inaudible)?” Jones’ hands can be seen moving the steering wheel of the truck and one of the officers’ hands reaches for the wheel.
“You’re trying to get f…ing shot!” Two pops can be heard and Jones slumps over onto the passenger seat. A firearm in the hand of the second officer can be seen briefly, along with blood on his fingers. “Are you good?” one asks the other. ‘Yeah, I’m good.”
One officer calls in “shots fired, shots fired.” The truck comes to a stop on East Avenue, just past the exit to the station.
Investigation will go to Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation
The officers move an unresponsive Jones from the cab of the truck and handcuff him on the ground.
The police department’s original press release following the shooting said officers immediately rendered first aid to Jones – in the video, it shows the officers first removed Jones from the vehicle and handcuffed him.
About 50 seconds after the shooting, one officer runs to the trunk of the police car, calls for EMS and grabs a medical kit while the other checks Jones, asking, “Hey man, are you still with us?”
He searches Jones and finds a handgun, which he describes to the other officer when he returns as “loaded.”
The gun recovered by the officer appears to be a rusty, revolver-style handgun. Earlier information released by the police indicated the gun was recovered from inside the car, but the video shows it was found on or near Jones’ person.
The press release indicated the city’s Combined Communications Center received two 911 calls immediately following the shooting. One of the callers, an unidentified woman, alleged that Jones was shot while handcuffed, which doesn’t appear to be the case based on the video footage, as Jones was shot inside the cab of the truck and wasn’t handcuffed until after he was removed from the vehicle.
Jones was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the police department, the officer who fatally shot the suspect had been an Akron police officer for two and a half years. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave per department procedure as the shooting is investigated. The department did not identify the officer.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded to the scene and will handle the investigation. BCI’s findings will be turned over to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office for review before being submitted to the Summit County Grand Jury.
The Akron Police Department said its standards and accountability office would conduct a separate internal investigation into the shooting, with the results provided to Police Chief Brian Harding and Police Auditor Anthony Finnell for review.
Family retains Bobby DiCello, attorney for Jayland Walker’s family
Attorney Bobby DiCello, who is representing Jones’ children and who also is the lawyer for the family of Jayland Walker in their civil lawsuit against the City of Akron, issued the following statement to Signal Akron media partner 3News:
“The children of Michael Donnell Jones had a private viewing of the video which showed the last, tragic moments of Michael’s life, and were devastated by what they saw. They struggle to understand why the officers leapt into the truck, why they then tased him, and why they shot him, especially when Michael made no threats toward them of any kind.”
DiCello stated Jones lost control of the vehicle after he was tased and then shot by the police. It is unclear from the video if the officers used a taser.
“Michael’s children are committed to getting justice for Michael, and they urge the City of Akron to hold the officers accountable,” DiCello said in the statement.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik released a statement Saturday afternoon in response to the release of the videos:
“Today, the Akron Police Department released body camera footage and surveillance camera footage of the officer involved shooting last Saturday that resulted in the death of 54-year-old Michael Jones. My heart goes out to his family in this loss.
“While it is never easy to watch someone’s last moments, I believe it is important that our community has a clear picture of what we know so far. I also want to acknowledge that the investigative process is in the beginning stages.”