The City of Akron announced it will seek approval from City Council to work with Paul, Weiss, a law firm, and 21 CP Solutions, a consulting organization that evaluates police departments, to facilitate a comprehensive review of the Akron Police Department’s use-of-force policy. 

The process will also examine the department’s policies, training, accountability systems and community perceptions of public safety related to use of force. 

Legislation will be introduced Monday to Akron City Council by Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, Council President Margo Sommerville and Ward 4 Council Member Jan Davis to authorize the work. 

Signal background

Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will lead the team from Paul, Weiss, which will work with 21 CP Solutions as a consultant that “specializes in helping cities and communities effectively tackle the challenges of delivering safe, effective, just, and constitutional public safety services,” according to a news release from the mayor’s office.  

The proposed review is expected to take from five to six months to complete.

The release stated the assessment will also examine if “there are any inequities and disparate impacts resulting from the identified information; identify systems and practices for monitoring and tracking data and identifying trends; and build mutual trust between the community and APD.”

Brian Lucey, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 union, said, “Our officers welcome an open dialogue in the upcoming review process. Their input will be critical in the evaluation of the Akron Police Department’s policies and trainings, and they will undoubtedly have invaluable feedback to provide to this process. As a union, we’re open to this policy review and the opportunity to engage with the consultant teams and the community.”

The assessment will also review conclusions and progress from prior reports — these include the 2011 Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) report, City Council’s 2021 Reimagining Public Safety report and the city’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Task Force reports. 

Signal background

No investigations related to a particular incident or officers will be conducted, but past incidents may be reviewed for context. 

The Paul, Weiss team will produce a set of recommendations to the city for practical steps it can take to address any issues identified during the review.

The review will include interviews with APD leaders, the Akron FOP Lodge 7 union members and focus groups with police officers. There will also be community engagement sessions with Akron residents.

Some sessions will be public, city-wide roundtables, while others will be smaller listening sessions, which will include invitations to the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board and Police Auditor’s Office.

The press release, sent at 6:14 p.m. Friday to the media, did not include any information on the cost of the undertaking. That information should be made available when City Council takes up the proposal Monday.

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.