The independent office investigating police misconduct in Akron will soon be at full staff after the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board (CPOB) hired a lifelong Akron resident as its deputy police auditor.
In late July, the CPOB offered the job to Keysha Myers, who will work alongside Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell in the Office of the Independent Police Auditor. The hiring of an additional auditor beefs up the office charged with independently investigating Akron Police Department use-of-force incidents, along with other alleged misconduct. The police auditor’s office will also suggest changes to police policies.
CPOB Chair Kemp Boyd said Myers accepted the job and will start Aug. 26.
Finnell has been the lone auditor in the office since he was hired in March. While the CPOB has the final say on hiring, Myers was Finnell’s first choice because, in addition to her other qualifications, she is deeply connected to the city.
“When I came on, many questions were raised about my connection to Akron,” said Finnell, who previously worked in Oakland, Chicago, Seattle and Indianapolis. “I hadn’t been to Akron until I came for my interview. One of the things I was prioritizing for the deputy was that they would be from Akron. But she’s not just someone from Akron. She has the skill set to do the work and is willing to do the work with integrity.”
Myers’ resume indicates that she has been a local real estate agent since 2020 and also has deep experience working in the court system.
Between 2017 and 2024, she worked in the U.S. District Court in Akron as a pretrial services and probation officer, where she “investigated defendants charged with a federal crime and provided appropriate recommendations to the Court,” among other duties.
Between 2004 and 2017, she worked in the Summit County Juvenile Court as a cognitive behavioral therapist group facilitator, among other roles. In her last five years at that court, she was the juvenile detention alternatives initiative sub-committee co-chair.
Prior to the CPOB offering the job to Myers on June 24, Finnell reported the posting for the position received nine applications. Five of them were interviewed virtually; two finalists were interviewed in person.
At the July 10 meeting, Myers did not get the job offer after failing to secure enough votes from CPOB members to reach the two-thirds threshold necessary to be selected. Myers is the niece of CPOB Vice Chair Donzella Anuszkiewicz, who did not vote on her appointment. Two members voted no. Since it was Crystal Jones’ first meeting as a member of the board, she did not vote.
At the July 24 meeting, the two members who previously voted no switched their vote and Myers was officially offered the job.
“I voted yes last time and I voted yes this time,” Boyd, the CPOB chair, told Signal Akron. “One of the things that Anthony [Finnell] really made a commitment to was that whoever would be in the office, that that person would be from Akron. But it wasn’t just about getting anybody, it had to be the right person, and we believe that she is the right person. Anthony’s recommendation to us went a long way — I trust his judgment.”
Finnell has already issued at least five reports about police misconduct and policy recommendations to Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, the police department and city council. With Myers on board, that output can increase, while the auditor’s office and Akron City Hall figure out what action should be taken after a report is issued.
Among past cases of APD use of force, Finnell told Signal Akron in June that his office plans to probe the 2022 killing of Jayland Walker, whose death spurred the voter-approved oversight system that created the CPOB and the auditor’s office.
Finnell told Signal Akron that while he has the capacity to start gathering documents and videos from the APD’s internal investigation into Walker’s killing, the probe will intensify after a deputy auditor is hired.
“I need to have my deputy on board because this isn’t going to be a one-person job,” Finnell said in June. “It’s going to be an all-hands-on-deck-type job because I want the different perspectives and because of the volume of information. I need the extra set of eyes to examine everything.”
After the July 24 meeting where Myers was extended the job offer, Finnell again spoke about the necessity of a deputy auditor.
“We’ll have another body here,” he said. “Someone else, another mind, another perspective to help build out this system.”
