The City of Akron settled a federal lawsuit filed by a man who was punched in the head and arrested during a traffic stop by an officer known by the city’s independent police officer as a “frequent flyer” for use-of-force cases.
Terrell Battles filed the civil rights lawsuit in June of 2025 against the City of Akron and Officer Warren Spragg IV, who repeatedly punched Battles in the head and face after conducting a traffic stop on a car driven by Battles’ brother. An APD supervisor cleared Spragg of any wrongdoing because Battles had been “verbally defiant and uncooperative” when the officer demanded his identification.
Attorneys for Battles and the city told the U.S. District Court in Akron last week that the two sides reached a settlement and a judge granted their motion to dismiss the case on April 14. The city agreed to pay Battles $24,000, said attorney Imokhai Okolo of the Okolo Law Firm, which represented Battles.
The city’s settlement in the lawsuit filed by Battles comes a year after the city settled a similar lawsuit filed by a man named Jordan Ely, another Black man who was repeatedly punched in the head and arrested by Spragg. Ely’s lawsuit was settled for $15,000.
“This is our second lawsuit against Officer Spragg and if his record tells us anything, it may not be the last,” Okolo said in a statement on Tuesday. “If the City of Akron cares about the safety and wellbeing of its community members, they must do more to hold officers accountable for police violence.”
City of Akron spokesperson Stephanie Marsh wrote in an email to Signal Akron that the settlement “reflects a compromise and is not an admission of wrongdoing by any party. We believe it was a reasonable decision made in the best financial interest of the City under the advice of legal counsel.”
Marsh said that the city takes use-of-force cases seriously. Marsh highlighted a review of the department’s policies by the Police Executive Research Forum that is “nearing completion, and we expect to share recommendations and next steps soon.”
Passenger pulled from car, punched in the head
In the June 2024 incident at the center of the lawsuit settled this month, Battles was in the passenger seat of his brother’s car when Spragg and his partner initiated a traffic stop, ostensibly over expired tags. After Battles questioned the officer about why he, as the passenger, was being ordered to provide his identification, Spragg demanded he get out of the car and then pummelled Battles when he continued to ask questions.
As Spragg and other officers pulled Battles out of the car and pinned him to the ground, Spragg punched the man in the head several more times before handcuffing and arresting him. The lawsuit says the officer broke Battles’ nose.
Battles was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest, charges that an Akron police officer in another case testified were automatically applied to people subjected to police use of force. Akron prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Battles.
The traffic stop was the focus of a probe by Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell, who highlighted Spragg’s frequent use-of-force incidents. Okolo told Signal Akron last year that Spragg had at least 27 use-of-force incidents between January 2023 and August 2024.
Finnell challenged the APD’s internal investigation of Spragg in the Battles case, which declared that force was objectively reasonable.
