One new member of the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board is concerned about the negative perceptions of police and said the existing internal mechanisms within the department are adequate to deal with any allegations of misconduct. Another new member of the oversight board spent nearly two decades as an Akron police officer and has a brother still on the force.
The two are among the four candidates enthusiastically approved by Akron City Council on Monday evening. They fill two oversight board seats vacated by mid-term resignations and two seats filling expiring terms.
Current CPOB Vice Chair Donzella Anuszkiewicz was reappointed to another term, while CPOB member Bob Gippin, who was deeply involved in the board’s reviews of police misconduct, was replaced by former police officer Juanita Elton.
Duane Crabbs, a chaplain and former firefighter who refers to the police as “we,” given police and fire are both part of the safety forces, and Christopher Weems, a minister and landscape company owner, were also approved by City Council.
Anuszkiewicz and Elton were the candidates nominated by City Council while Crabbs and Weems were nominated by Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. The two entities are responsible for nominating candidates while City Council confirms them — city law requires two-thirds of council to approve the candidates it nominates and half of its members to approve candidates nominated by the mayor’s office.
During City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday evening, the three new board members were in attendance and spoke of their admiration of the police department.
Juanita Elton
“I think we can hold the police accountable, but we should not have animus toward the police,” Elton told members of City Council. “If we show animus for the police, then what are we to the community? We’re saying to the community that police, the city, and the citizens cannot engage together and make the city better.”
Elton spent nearly two decades with the Akron Police Department before leaving for other work. Gippin told Signal Akron last week that he believed the Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge #7 — the union representing Akron police officers — was involved in replacing him with a former FOP member.
When Council Member Johnnie Hannah asked Elton how long she’s been retired from the APD, she said since 2011.
“I don’t have any relationships with current police officers — I’m sure if I ran into some of them in the hall I would not even know they were police officers if they were not in uniform,” Elton said.
“OK, but there are still some officers that’s on the force that you did interact with, is that correct?” Hannah asked.
“I have a brother that’s on the force,” Elton said, contradicting her statements from a few moments earlier. She said there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest if an incident involving her brother came before the board because she’s “a big girl” and he’s “a big boy.”
Records detail that her brother is Sgt. Thomas Elton III, who has worked for the APD since 1995. The new CPOB member, who obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Akron in urban studies and public affairs after leaving the APD, wrote in her dissertation on “cross cultural adaptability in peace officers” about a close relationship with her brother despite differing views on the justice system.
“As a sworn peace officer,” she wrote in the dissertation, “you do not always share my views about the criminal justice system including police culture and law enforcement organizations, but your different worldview has not compromised your ability to unconditionally love and support me.”
On Monday, after Hannah’s questioning led to the public revelation of her brother’s status on the APD, Elton said there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest: “His job is his job. If I’m seated on this board, my job will be my job,” she said. “My brother does not discuss what occurs at the police department, nor should he, because I am no longer an active police officer. I will not discuss what occurs on the board. He supports me, and I support him.”
Council President Margo Sommerville said shortly after that the issue was addressed during Elton’s interview with City Council members. Those interviews are conducted in what is called “executive session,” away from public view.
“We did not see any areas that would be a conflict going forward,” Sommerville said during the committee meeting on Monday. “We do believe you’re going to be able to bring something different that does not currently exist to the board, just with your background and your experience.”
Duane Crabbs
Crabbs, who would later be approved, emphasized “police-commuity relations” as his main priority, mentioning that FOP President Brian Lucey, a staunch critic of the board, is a personal friend of his. (Crabbs later told Signal Akron that they are “friendly” — no dinner parties or social hang outs — but that Lucey was involved in donating bikes to the South Street Ministries bike shop program, which Crabbs helped found, and they have talked.)
“The fact is, the concerns that they have is that at some point a review of force may lead to them being less able to defend themselves, and I think that’s a reasonable concern,” Crabbs said. “On the other hand, they can do a better job of de-escalation and training and a review may be helpful to that. Maybe.”
Crabbs mentioned the APD killings of Jayland Walker, whose 2022 death spurred the voter-approved creation of the CPOB and a $4.5 million settlement with the city, and of Jazmir Tucker last November. Crabbs emphasized that between the June 2022 killing of Walker and the 2024 killing of Tucker, only one other person (Michael Jones in August 2024) was killed by an Akron officer while many others were killed by people who weren’t officers.
In an interview with Signal Akron, Crabbs took issue with the way that the CPOB and Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell review and often criticize APD use-of-force incidents.
“As I’ve watched the police oversight board, it appears to work on a forced-compliance model. Somehow what the community wants is somebody to look over the police and basically hold them accountable as if their intention is to harm and kill, and that bugs me because every police officer I worked with has a deep sense of personal and professional responsibility.… We don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt any more. In the community, if a police shooting happens, the community assumes it was an abuse of power.”
Crabbs said that the APD already has accountability mechanisms, including an internal affairs department that reports to the police chief, a police chief who is appointed by the mayor, and the mayor, who is elected by the people.
Crabbs said he intends to work toward “mutuality and respect” between the police and community and anticipates making waves in that process.
“As I make decisions and try to do the right thing,” he said, “I’m going to piss off some of my police friends on some decisions and I’m going to piss off the community on some others.”
Christopher Weems and Donzella Anuszkiewicz
Christopher Weems also addressed the Public Safety Committee on Monday ahead of its vote.
“I believe my purpose here in life is to help my community,” he said, and he said he can do that while supporting the police.
“I support both sides, I really do,” Weems said. “I love our community, and we need our police department.”
Anuszkiewicz, the returning CPOB member, appeared via Zoom and emphasized the hard work — “emphasis on the word hard” — that the board has been doing the last two years. She pledged to bring together all stakeholders, including the police, to create a “state of the art” charter amendment that would improve the “credibility” of the board.
“That is going to be my personal goal.”