Editor’s note: The location of the event has changed to Trailhead At Cascade Lofts, located at 21 West North St. in Akron.
The Akron community is invited Sunday, Feb. 16, to discuss policing with officers from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
The panel discussion will include Black law enforcement officers ranging in rank from sergeant to chief of police from across Northeast Ohio. Youth are scheduled to be a part of the conversation too.
“Bridging the Gap: A Conversation on Policing from a Black Perspective,” marks the achievements of Black police officers during Black History Month and is an attempt to address mistrust and communal trauma by fostering understanding, awareness and education. The event starts at 2:45 p.m.
Michael Murphy Sr., the Akron Police Department’s chaplain, said the privately funded event is designed to be solution-oriented.
“We already know what the problems are, and it doesn’t make sense to have all of these law enforcement professionals come down here and we talk about the problems,” said Murphy, a member of NOBLE who also serves as the senior pastor of Prevail Church in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood.
“So let us get to what our best practices are, what has worked in other communities, what has moved the needle in some of the places they’re from so that we can glean from this and find action steps.”
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding is schedule to attend.
The discussion follows high-profile police use-of-force incidents last year in Akron, including the Thanksgiving night killing of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker by an Akron police officer.
Kemp Boyd, the chair of Akron’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board, said the event is a good start and continuing the work is vital.
After all, Boyd said, Black police officers are in the minority in Akron — approximately 15% of the force in 2024. It’s important at some point, he added, to hear from multiple perspectives, including the Black officers’ white colleagues; officers who were born and raised in Akron; and Akron police officers who live outside of the city.
“I like the promise of what it can be,” said Boyd, who is also the executive director of Love Akron, a Christian organization seeking to influence positive change in the city. “I think being able to sit people down and having Black officers come in and speak to what it’s like … will be helpful and beneficial.”
Sunday afternoon’s activities will begin with a private luncheon at which invited participants — law enforcement officers, community leaders, youth and other community stakeholders — will discern key questions that will then form the basis of the public panel discussion that starts at 2:45 p.m.
