Four years after Akron voters amended the city charter to create a civilian police oversight system, nearly 58 percent of them again used their ballots to strengthen how it operates and to give it increased authority to potentially influence Akron Police Department operations.
“People really did put in a lot of work,” Freedom BLOC Political Director Ciara Vinzant said into a microphone at the group’s joyful election night party at The Posh Venue. She heaped praise on a small group of canvassers who collected thousands of signatures from Akron voters over the summer to put the charter amendment on the ballot.
The margin of victory for Issue 13 represents a roughly four percent drop in support, but a 2,000 increase in votes in an election with higher turnout, compared to the 2022 ballot measure that created the oversight system in the wake of Jayland Walker’s killing.
The charter amendment that passed on Tuesday amends a 1,211-word law that allowed Akron City Council to hold sway over the Civilian Police Oversight Board’s day-to-day operations. The updated 3,653-word law wrests much of that control away and doesn’t rely as heavily on seeking approval from city officials.
How will Issue 13 work?
Issue 13 lays out that:
- The Office of the Independent Police Auditor will have more tools to investigate alleged police misconduct and influence Akron Police Department disciplinary actions.
- The mayor and the Akron Police Department will be required to respond to challenges to their disciplinary findings or the auditor’s recommendations will be enacted by default.
- City Council would be responsible for three seats, with the selection of the other three going to the current oversight board members. That would mean City Council, the mayor’s office and current oversight board members would have an equal say in the makeup of the board. Council has frequently shown deference to Akron’s police union in who it selects for the board and in how the board operates.
The charter amendment was opposed by the Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge #7 — Akron’s police union — whose president issued social media statements against Issue 13, saying it would be a waste of money, that the Akron Police Department already has sufficient oversight, and Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell shouldn’t have more authority.
“Bad for public safety. A waste of money,” an FOP infographic states.
FOP President Brian Lucey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.
Original charter amendment passed in wake of Jayland Walker killing
The ballot measure four years ago was backed by 61.93 percent of the vote – 30,475 voters – in the wake of Jayland Walker’s killing that June.
As the system began taking shape over the next year, Akron’s police union exerted influence over who Akron City Council appointed to sit on the oversight board and significant influence on Akron City Council as it rejected the oversight board’s initial rules proposal.
When the police auditor was eventually hired by the oversight board and first challenged how the APD disciplined officers in 2024, Mayor Shammas Malik’s office initially took months to respond – there was nothing in the law that said the mayor, or anybody else, had to acknowledge the oversight system’s determinations.
The police oversight measure was one of three proposed amendments to the city charter added to the ballot after a signature-gathering campaign earlier this year by Freedom BLOC. The proposal received less organized opposition than two housing measures, beyond Lucey’s Facebook posts and comments at recent Akron City Council and oversight board meetings.
“Akron voters, if you are still undecided on Issue 13, I encourage you to watch tonight’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board meeting,” Lucey wrote on Oct. 21, when oversight board members debated the merits of Flock cameras. “I had to look out the window to see if a tent was set up over city hall, because it was a circus!”
Malik, who recommended that voters reject housing Issues 11 and 12 last month because they were “extreme” and “would create more problems than they would solve,” did not explicitly tell residents how they should vote on Issue 13. He did imply it may not be necessary, since some of the changes it sought to cement into law were already being acted on voluntarily by his office. He also said the new requirements that mandated the mayor’s office response would necessitate hiring additional staff to handle the load.
Freedom BLOC’s Executive Director Raymond Greene Jr. said he disagreed that the law would be redundant based on what the mayor’s office currently does.
“That administration is up for election next year,” Greene told Signal Akron last month. “If they win, cool; if they don’t, then what? This goes past any administration. It’d be in the charter that this is how we’re going to conduct business in the City of Akron — doesn’t depend on an administration. It’s in the charter, it’s gospel.”
