Q&A: Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the Jazmir Tucker shooting

Jazmir Tucker, a 15-year-old North High School student, was shot and killed Thanksgiving night by Akron Police Officer Davon Fields. Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the events that evening.

How many times was Jazmir Tucker shot?

Tucker was shot three times, twice in the back and once in the right arm. According to Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler, each of Officer Davon Fields’ gunshots to Tucker’s back — one piercing his heart and left lung before exiting his body and another piercing his pelvis, small intestine and other organs — would have killed Tucker rapidly, while the gunshot wound to his right arm would not have been fatal, the autopsy said.

Could Tucker have survived if medical aid was provided sooner?

No, Kohler said both of the chest wounds were lethal in nature. The gunshot that pierced his heart would have been deadly, she said, describing it as “rapid” and “devastating.”

What were the officers doing when they encountered Tucker?

Davon Fields and his partner were in their patrol car filling out paperwork from a previous, unrelated incident when they heard gunfire nearby, according to a statement from Akron police. They headed toward the parking lot of Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, just northeast of the school building.

Signal Akron asked for any 911 calls made to APD related to the gunfire but has not received a response to the request.

Is Fields still on the Akron police force?

Fields and his partner have been placed on paid administrative leave per departmental procedure.  

Will Fields be fired? 

At-Large Council Member Eric Garrett planned to put forward a resolution for City Council to vote on demanding that Fields be fired, he said at the Dec. 16 council meeting. At Monday’s council meeting, a resolution from Garrett to support Tucker’s family was set aside, since Garrett was not present at the meeting.

The Akron police union has been vocal about its opposition to this resolution, with union president Brian Lucey asking the community for “calm and patience” while an independent investigation is conductedand said during Monday’s city council meeting that the “community” should be “retrained” instead of the police.

Can Fields be criminally charged? 

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will gather evidence and conduct witness interviews from the crime scene as part of its overall investigation of the teenager’s death.

After the investigation, the findings will be submitted to the Ohio Attorney General’s office for review and then submitted to the Summit County Grand Jury for evaluation.

Grand juries, made up of nine people in Ohio, will decide whether or not to indict a defendant, which means a formal charge or accusation is started, on what they find to be the appropriate charges.

How many use-of-force incidents has Fields been involved in? 

Records obtained by Signal Akron indicate Fields has filed 36 use-of-force reports since January 2022, not including the shootings of Tucker and Lawrence Rodgers — Fields shot and killed Rodgers in 2022, according to investigative records on the Ohio Attorney General’s website that were examined by Signal Akron.

Did the officers call to tell the dispatcher what they were doing?

We don’t know if they called dispatch to say what they were doing, although other police officers responded to the scene, so it would make sense that they called at some point, or that neighbors saw them and called.

It’s also possible the second police cruiser that was on the scene quickly was parked near where Fields and his partner were filling out their reports.

Signal Akron submitted a records request for any calls related to the incident that went to the dispatcher from that night and is still waiting for the records to be produced. Normally, simple records like dispatcher logs and police radio recordings are produced within days — the Signal Akron request was made Dec. 2. 

What did the officers see when they arrived at Miller South? Did they find Tucker in the parking lot at Miller South?

We don’t know. The officers didn’t turn on their body-worn cameras, so if their initial encounter was in the parking lot, it was not recorded. Fields and his partner can be seen on the dashcam video crossing the parking lot of Miller South and moving onto the front lawn. Tucker can be seen in front of the school near the sign as the officers approach.

Signal Akron has requested the officers’ dash cam recording. Their incident report should detail what they saw, as well, but it has not been produced by the police department.

What is the potential penalty for not turning on body cameras? 

APD policy says that “Officer and citizen safety should always be given priority over activating” both the body-worn cameras and in-car video systems. 

“Officers may encounter a situation requiring immediate action to prevent injury, destruction of evidence, or escape. In these situations, officers should activate the [equipment] if doing so does not place them or others in danger; otherwise, officers shall activate the [equipment] at the first available opportunity after the immediate threat has been addressed.”

While the policy does not outline specific punishment, it does say that supervisors are responsible for ensuring that officers are complying with procedure. 

Why was there no audio for the first 30 seconds of body-worn camera video?

The APD’s body-worn video camera policy shows that the department uses equipment from Axon Enterprises. According to the Axon website, agencies can configure the buffering mode so that cameras record sound as well as video. Agencies also have the option to extend the buffering time, which is 30 seconds by default, up to two minutes. 

The policy requires the cameras to remain in buffering mode during each tour of duty and says that the camera should be switched to recording mode before all calls of service “that are likely to result in citizen contact.”

What weapons did the officers use?

The officer who shot Tucker used an assault-style rifle that was highly accessorized. The other officer who didn’t fire was also carrying an assault-style rifle. 

“A majority of the rifles are not department issued,” Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said during a Dec. 6 press conference. “We have some, but a majority of officers purchased them themselves.”

Where did the rifles come from, and why were the officers carrying such powerful weapons?

Harding said the assault rifle was the officer’s personal weapon, which is permitted as long as the officer “qualifies” with the actual gun they plan to carry.

He said officers are using rifles more frequently in response to what they face on the street when they’re on duty and the complex situations they find themselves in — there’s no specific policy about what weapon the officer should use in response. It’s not unusual, he said, for an officer to use a rifle in response to a “shots fired” call, although it’s unclear if there was any call made about the gunshots.

Fields’ weapon is equipped with a suppressor, commonly known as a silencer. Is this legal in Ohio, even for police officers? 

Policy states that any firearm accessories must be authorized by the chief of police or the officer’s subdivision commander and must be installed by authorized department staff. 

Officers also must receive initial and annual training on firearm accessories.

In Ohio, police officers can use suppressors, which are considered “dangerous ordinance,” if they are registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Did Tucker have a gun?

Yes. The pistol, which had an extended magazine, was zipped deep into the right-hand pocket of his green jacket. Police recovered it when they searched him, after he was shot and lying on the ground in front of the school. He also had a flashlight and some other items in the pocket, including a bag of marijuana. 

Why did Tucker have a gun? What was he shooting at?

We do not know why Tucker had a gun or what he was shooting at. But APD announced that shell casings recovered near the scene match the gun found in Tucker’s jacket pocket.

It is also unclear whether Tucker brandished the weapon during his initial interaction with the police officers or whether they saw the gun in his hand.

Where did Tucker get the gun?

We don’t know where, how or why Tucker acquired the gun and was allegedly shooting it in the parking lot of the school.