Akron Mayor Shammas Malik withdrew his proposal to offer a deputy police chief a large payout to leave the Akron Police Department.
On May 20, the workday following his appointment of Brian Harding as the permanent Akron police chief, Malik sought Akron City Council’s approval to offer Deputy Chief Jesse Leeser $400,000 for a voluntary buyout. Leeser is the second highest-ranking employee of the APD.
The goal, Malik said, was to “assist with changing the culture” of the department. Leeser was the only other candidate with Harding in the internal-only police chief search. Malik had been publicly critical of the veteran officer in two town halls he held with Harding after Leeser was removed from consideration.
The $400,000 buyout proposal appeared to have little support and appeared unlikely to be approved by City Council had it gone forward. If it had been approved, Leeser would have had the option to accept the offer and leave or refuse it and stay.
“I’m not inclined to support it based specifically on the dollar amount being proposed and the precedent it would set,” said Ward 8 Council Member James Hardy, who lauded Leeser, a 29-year department veteran, in an interview with Signal Akron. “I understand and truly respect Mayor Malik trying to think of different ways to promote leaders and support leadership within the police force, but for me it’s an awfully expensive proposition.”
In interviews with Signal Akron, At-Large Council Member and Council President Margo Sommerville said that the money would be better spent elsewhere in the department.
When the legislation was originally proposed, Ward 7 Council Member Donnie Kammer, Ward 10 Council Member Sharon Connor, and At-Large Council Member Eric Garrett all spoke out against it.
“The $400,000 amount is pretty steep to go back to the constituents,” Kammer said last month. “… This is one that I probably can’t support moving forward.”
During City Council committee meetings on May 20, Malik said that he also planned to seek City Council approval to offer buyouts to captains and lieutenants. The goal is to create open positions to give officers more of a sense of opportunity to move up the ranks instead of feeling that they need to go elsewhere to be promoted.
In a statement to Ideastream’s Anna Huntsman about withdrawing the proposal, Malik said:
“We appreciate the robust dialogue with city councilmembers over the last several weeks regarding the legislation. The idea of voluntary separation packages is just one tool we have been considering to assist with creating opportunities for officers to advance within ranks and include new perspectives in leadership roles. We will continue working to advance our vision of an Akron Police Department rooted in community policing, violence prevention, and retention and recruitment.”
