In the most contentious meeting since City Council enacted restrictive public comment rules in December, City Council audience regular Rev. John Beaty was escorted out of council chambers by three Akron officers.
Beaty, 85, had stepped up to the lectern after the last registered public commenter finished their allotted three minutes to protest what he called “a gag law.” Beaty hadn’t registered to speak well in advance of the meeting, which is one of the new regulations from City Council. Other regulations included only being able to speak once every 30 days and a maximum of 10 people able to speak at each meeting.
“I’m going to speak anyway because the gag law this council has passed is unjust, undemocratic,” Beaty said when he reached the microphone, which was soon shut off.
Council President Margo Sommerville cut him off.
“Listen, you could have come to me and you could have asked to speak and you did not do that,” she told him. “So at this point, what I’m going to do is have to ask you to take a seat and we’re going to continue with the regularly scheduled agenda.”
Some in the audience shouted “shame, shame.” Activist Fran Wilson shouted out for Sommerville to “suspend the rules,” like she regularly does during other parts of council meetings.
Somerville addressed the crowd and the protesting reverend.
“One more time, I’m going to ask that we maintain order in council chambers. Reverend Beaty, I’m going to ask you to take a seat, and if you cannot do that, we will have everyone removed from chambers.”
Speaking into a shut-off microphone, Beaty evoked the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr: “Unjust laws must not be obeyed.”
At that point, Council Vice President Jeff Fusco made a motion for council to go into recess.
“This gag law must be reversed,” Beaty yelled before three large Akron police officers entered council chambers and approached him. One put his hand around Beaty’s side and whispered into his ear.
“This unjust gag law must be reversed!” he continued to shout.
Council Members Linda Omobien and James Hardy approached Beaty and, escorted by the three officers, Beaty left council chambers quietly. He was not arrested.
Later in the meeting, while expressing deep sadness at the shooting of 15-year-old Tavion Koonce-Williams by an Akron police officer, Council Member Eric Garrett told his colleagues, “It saddens me that Mr. Beaty has to sit here and just about be escorted out.”
A frustrated Fusco was less sympathetic, calling Beaty “one individual grandstanding.”
“Our job is to protect the city,” Fusco said. “That’s our job. Our job is also to have decorum here so we can do our business, and obviously there are some out there that are going to want to disrupt. Obviously there are some that are going to disrupt, and that’s just what they’re about.”