The work record of Anthony Finnell, the finalist for the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board’s police auditor position, became a point of contention at the board’s meeting Wednesday after a story published by WKYC documented allegations that Finnell “was accused of certifying police misconduct in Seattle without properly reviewing the evidence.”
Finnell came to Akron last week to participate in a town hall for community members to learn about his candidacy. He addressed the allegations at the town hall, saying they stemmed from the 2020 George Floyd protests in Seattle when many complaints came in from around the world as people who were watching events unfold online. There wasn’t time, he said, to review all evidence from all complaints.
WKYC also reported that when Finnell previously worked in Oakland, he “was abruptly fired for a dispute with police commissioners who wanted access to investigative files. Finnell sued the city for wrongful termination, and the city settled the lawsuit for $40,592 without admitting any wrongdoing.”
Gippin and board member Donzella Anuszkiewicz eviscerated the story in front of the WKYC crew. WKYC followed its first report with responses from the board and the Akron mayor’s office.
“Literally since day one we were aware of these allegations,” Gippin said. “We raised them with Mr. Finnell, we discussed them at length, and we came away satisfied that his conduct concerning those Seattle allegations gave no reason for us not to proceed to hire him as auditor.… The allegations in Seattle were, in a sense, distorted and exaggerated. His conduct did not provide any reason not to move forward.”
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Anuszkiewicz, who engaged in a heated discussion with the WKYC reporter after the meeting, said the board knows what it’s doing, that the story “smeared” Finnell, and that “he’s our choice and he’s going to remain our choice.”
Finnell is president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and has worked in civilian oversight of the police departments in Seattle and Oakland, California, and Seattle, among other roles.
Mayor’s office wants Finnell as consultant, someone else as police auditor
Mayor Shammas Malik’s administration doesn’t believe that Finnell should be offered the auditor job, and instead suggested the board offer him a consulting role. Malik’s Chief of Strategy Nanette Pitt spoke up toward the end of the meeting.
“The mayor urges careful consideration at this time, due diligence, and a deliberative process, so that we can do the right thing the right way,” Pitt told the CPOB. “Mayor Malik would like to urge your consideration of a consulting relationship with Mr. Finnell.… He would be able to support us in hiring an independent police auditor who can invest fully in Akron with the full and unquestioning support of our community and our police department.”
Pitt’s suggestion irked some members of the board.
“I would have preferred to have heard this differently and privately as opposed to the way it was presented,” said Gippin, who mentioned that the board likely won’t be making a decision on Finnell until its March 6 meeting.
“If we’re an independent board, we need to be making independent decisions,” Anuszkiewicz said. “I’m beginning to feel that this board is becoming just another political entity within the City of Akron, especially with what was just mentioned by Ms. Pitt. … I feel strong-armed, and I feel that our independence is being taken from us.”
Signal Akron reached out to the mayor’s office for more context on why Malik doesn’t believe Finnell should get the auditor job, but did not receive an immediate response.
A big part of the work the CPOB wants to do is hire an independent police auditor to lead investigations of police misconduct. It can’t formally hire leading candidate Anthony Finnell until it has its rules package approved by City Council, which is expected to happen Feb. 26.