The City of Akron is settling a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by 24 people who were arrested during protests in early July 2022 following the killing of Jayland Walker.
The plaintiffs include Breonna Taylor’s aunt, Jacob Blake’s father, and activist Michael Harris. All 24 were arrested on “bogus criminal charges brought against them for the purpose of justifying the illegal acts of the police department,” their attorney said when the case was filed.
Though the terms are not yet public, U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr. wrote on Jan. 22 in the case record that attorneys for both sides “have agreed to a resolution on this case” and that “the parties will finalize a settlement agreement by February 2; the first payment will be made by February 23.”
Mayor Shammas Malik confirmed to Signal Akron on Monday morning that the city agreed to settle the lawsuit
“After mediation, the City of Akron Law Department recommended that this case be settled based on the potential cost associated with continuing to litigate it,” Malik said in a statement. “This decision was made with the fiscal responsibility of our taxpayers’ hard-earned money in mind, and we take that duty very seriously. “
A status hearing is set for Feb. 6. Attorneys for the 24 plaintiffs have not returned messages for comment.
The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Friedman, Gilbert & Gerhardstein in Akron’s federal court on June 29, 2023. The plaintiffs sued the City of Akron, then-Chief of Police Stephen Mylett, then-Mayor Daniel Horrigan, and many individual police officers.
The complaint stated that all the plaintiffs were peaceful protesters or bystanders who were arrested between July 3 and 7, 2022, in the days after Jayland Walker was killed by Akron Police officers on June 27, 2022. They “were subjected to unlawful uses of force, detention, arrest, prosecution, and First Amendment suppression and retaliation by Defendants,” the complaint states.
“Akron took extraordinary and unconstitutional efforts to shut down peaceful First Amendment protected protests in the wake of Jayland Walker’s death at the hands of their own police department,” said attorney Sarah Gelsomino in a statement when the lawsuit was filed.
“The city showed an extreme disregard for the law when police officers indiscriminately arrested people throughout downtown – including activists, students, people just trying to get home, and bystanders who had nothing to do with the protests.”
