Protesters chanting, “Jazmir justice” and “No justice no peace” gathered Saturday for the third night in a row near the Akron rubber worker statute on South Main Street downtown.

They were gathered to protest the death of Jazmir Tucker, a 15-year-old North High School freshman who was fatally shot Thanksgiving evening by an Akron police officer.

According to a statement from the Akron Police Department, the officer and his partner heard gunfire and encountered the teenager with a firearm near Vernon Odom Boulevard and East Avenue in Akron’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood.

Arielle Faith leads protest chants.
Arielle Faith leads protest chants as she walks around the roundabout by the Akron rubber worker statue Saturday night. About 40 protesters gathered downtown to protest the killing of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker by an Akron police officer Thanksgiving evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Protesters walk around the rubber worker statue.
Protesters walk around the rubber worker statue on South Main Street downtown on Saturday, Dec. 7. About 40 protesters gathered for the third night in a row to challenge the police killing of Jazmir Tucker, a 15-year-old North High School freshman who was killed Thanksgiving evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
A protester walks around the rubber worker statue on South Main Street downtown.
A protester walks around the rubber worker statue on South Main Street downtown on Saturday, Dec. 7. About 40 protesters gathered for the third night in a row to challenge the police killing of Jazmir Tucker, a 15-year-old North High School freshman. Tucker was killed Thanksgiving evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Robert Johnson, who says he knew Jazmir Tucker "all his life."
Robert Johnson, who says he knew Jazmir Tucker “all his life,” walks around the rubber statue on South Main Street downtown with other protesters. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Jazmir Tucker's aunt, Ida Green, yells as she and other relatives, including Jazmir's grandfather, Gary Green.
Jazmir Tucker’s aunt, Ida Green, (left) yells as she and other relatives, including Jazmir’s grandfather, Gary Green (center, with black hooded jacket), join other protesters on the roundabout by the Akron rubber worker statue downtown. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
A protester holds up a Justice for Jazmir sign out of the window of their vehicle.
A protester holds up a Justice for Jazmir sign out of the window of their vehicle, which was parked in the roundabout that surrounds the rubber worker statue downtown. About 40 protesters gathered to protest the killing of Jazmir Tucker by an Akron police officer on Thanksgiving evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Ida Green, Jazmir Tucker's aunt, protests near the rubber worker statue.
Ida Green, Jazmir Tucker’s aunt, protests near the rubber worker statue on South Main Street downtown on Saturday, Dec. 7. About 40 protesters chanted and carried signs to remember Tucker, who was shot and killed by an Akron police officer Thanksgiving evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Arielle Faith leads the chanting during a protest near the Akron rubber worker statue downtown.
Arielle Faith leads the chanting during a protest near the Akron rubber worker statue downtown on South Main Street. About 40 protesters came out Saturday to protest the killing of Jazmir Tucker, who was shot by an Akron police officer Thanksgiving night. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Signal background

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.