Tavion Koonce-Williams, the 15-year-old who was shot in the wrist April 1 by an Akron police officer, was charged Friday with having a “facsimile firearm,” a first-degree misdemeanor, according to an email from Michael Miller, the Akron Police Department’s public information officer.

Officer Ryan Westlake shot Tavion from inside his patrol car seconds after approaching the teenager. Earlier, a 911 caller had reported seeing a young man waving a gun around in a Goodyear Heights neighborhood. The gun, it turned out, was a toy.

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Imokhai Okolo, Tavion’s attorney, told Signal Akron that both he and the teenager’s family learned of the charge from the media.

In a statement, he said, “The actions taken by the City of Akron and the Akron Police Department are Unconscionable. It is not a crime to have a toy gun. It is not a crime to be a 15 year old playing with toys. It is not a crime to be a Black kid in Akron Ohio doing what kids do.

“Too often we see this city using their law department to weaponize criminal charges against Black youth in an attempt to avoid civil liability and shield themselves from political backlash. It’s disgusting, unethical, and wrong. Our community deserves better.“

During a press conference last week, Tavion’s family, Okolo and community leaders made a list of demands, including that Westlake be fired immediately and that the city release his full personnel file.

Akron NAACP President Judi Hill.
Akron NAACP President Judi Hill addresses 15-year-old Tavion Koonce-Williams and his family during a press conference last Friday in North Hill. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)

Westlake was able to rejoin the force after he was fired in 2021 during the administration of Mayor Dan Horrigan, who found him unfit to be a police officer.

The group also called for the U.S. Department of Justice to open a pattern-of-practice investigation into the APD “to push this city and this police department to treat people in this city with dignity and humanity.”

The April 12 shooting and its fallout “has been very, very traumatizing for me, my son, and also my other children,” said Angela Williams, Tavion’s mother, during the press conference. “… The Akron Police Department needs to be held accountable for the excessive force you use on our Black babies. It is not OK.”

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.

Government Reporter (he/him)
Doug Brown covers all things connected to the government in the city. He strives to hold elected officials and other powerful figures accountable to the community through easily digestible stories about complex issues. Prior to joining Signal Akron, Doug was a communications staffer at the ACLU of Oregon, news reporter for the Portland Mercury, staff writer for Cleveland Scene, and writer for Deadspin.com, among other roles. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hiram College and a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University.