'It just made matters worse.' Critics question police use of tear gas at Akron protest
Akron police and Summit County Sheriff's deputies used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse a protest along Copley Road about 8:10 p.m. Wednesday after declaring the march to be an unlawful assembly.
The police action took place while at least 100 people and numerous vehicles took part in the march protesting the police shooting death of Jayland Walker. Protesters had blocked traffic without permission at a few intersections for as long as 15 minutes.
The officers' response prompted criticism from local activists and several City Council members, who questioned whether police overreacted to a protest that had been peaceful.
Ward 4 Akron City Councilman Russ Neal said he arrived at the Copley Road scene of Wednesday’s demonstration as chemical agents were being deployed. Neal said he spoke directly to Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett by phone and directly to those who organized the protest.
“You know, now that I've heard from the chief, I understand what the concerns were as far as how the the road was blocked," Neal said.
However, police and sheriff's deputies on scene appeared to have provoked the crowd, he said.
“Tear gas and the pepper spray were released in the air, and you know that never just stays where you shoot it – it disperses through the whole crowd. It just made matters worse," he said. “If the reason why they said they sprayed is because people were throwing bricks and other things, I could understand it, but I didn't see any of that, so I can't speak to it. I haven't heard about anybody from the crowds there [throwing things].”
What happened on Copley Road?
After moving through Walker's neighborhood where he lived as a child, the crowd arrived in front of the Copley Road Family Dollar, where people stopped for a time before moving on.
A short time later, a line of police vehicles descended on the protesters near East Avenue, prompting some protesters to crowd the officers. That's when pepper spray was used by police and deputies.
After the pepper spray was deployed, some protesters began throwing water bottles, bricks and rocks.
As police advanced up Copley Road, they issued several warnings for marchers to clear the streets and get onto the sidewalks.
Several minutes later, at roughly 8:10 p.m., officers used a chemical irritant on the retreating group. As police advanced, they continued pepper spraying bystanders, some of whom had moved to the sidewalk.
Many participants began clearing out after the chemical spray was deployed. The acrid cloud hung in the air, slowly drifting toward the crowd, carried by a light breeze.
Police reviewing video before commenting
About 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Chief Steve Mylett told the Beacon Journal that he was waiting to review video from the Summit County Sheriff's Office and Ohio State Patrol and will comment later.
"I am waiting on video footage from a few of our partner law enforcement agencies to help clarify someconfusion," he said in a statement. "Before I explain what happened, I need to be sure of the timeline of events. Ifinformation is released prematurely and without the facts, that misinformation could cause irrevocable damage.
"As soon as I can confidently determine the exact circumstances of how [Wednesday] evening unfolded, I will make that information available to the public. If we made mistakes, we would improve upon them, and if the officers’ actions were reasonable, we would share that information as well.”
At a press conference on Monday, Mylett explained the department's policy on disturbances, "So, in the event that we experience violence during a protest — people throwing rocks, bricks, smashing windows or assaulting other people or assaulting officers — we will declare that assembly an unlawful assembly."
He also said that they would give people numerous chances to leave the protest area with instructions about where they can leave and how to get to the egress.
"At that point," Mylett said "our hope is that everybody would comply. If people continue to engage in violent behavior, then we’ll use the tools and resources at our disposal to have people leave the area safely. Where arrests need to be made, we will make those arrests. But, again, our sincere hope is that we’re not going to experience that this time."
Late Wednesday, Akron police Lt. Michael Miller in a text message that he was told, "at the height of the incident, there were up to 70 cars on East Avenue at Copley, curb to curb." He also was told "unknown subjects were throwing bricks, bottles and rocks at police."
Miller was not aware of any arrests, but confirmed pepper spray and a chemical irritant were used.
At approximately 7:57pm officers were having bottles thrown at them from marchers. That's when the orders to disperse were given.
— City of Akron, Ohio (@AkronOhioMayor) April 20, 2023
After Copley Road was cleared, Miller said he'd also heard reports of crowds and reckless driving in Highland Square, including, "vehicle and motorcycle doing donuts and wheelies and driving reverse of traffic and creating general disturbances."
Later in the evening, broken glass was discovered at three Highland Square businesses and downtown, but it was not clear if the vandalism was related to protests.
Community leaders react to police response to Wednesday night protest
At least two City Council members who are running to be Akron's next mayor issued statements critical of the police response to the protest.
Ward 5 Akron City Councilwoman and Akron mayoral candidate Tara Mosley released a statement Thursday morning saying Akron police declared the protest an "unlawful assembly" and that declaration "was their justification for deploying chemical weapons on the people of Akron. They pepper-sprayed them. They tear-gassed them."
"There are no reports of any injuries or property damage before the officers declared the assembly to be unlawful," the statement reads. "What, then, was unlawful about this assembly? The city claims that the officers issued orders to disperse because 'officers were having bottles thrown at them from marchers.' But, from the available evidence — and there is much of it online — the protests were peaceful before the officers ordered the people to disperse. The people were calling for accountability. Nothing more, nothing less. The people were protesting the Jayland Walker decision. They were crying out for healing. They were standing up for their neighbors and community and families and children.
"This assembly was not unlawful; it was demanding to be heard."
8:30pm An unlawful assembly was declared and orders to disperse issued. The area of Copley Rd. is now clear.
— City of Akron, Ohio (@AkronOhioMayor) April 20, 2023
Ward 8 Akron City Councilman and Akron mayoral candidate Shammas Malik released a statement Thursday afternoon saying a video showed "police using pepper spray, not in urgent self-defense, but in an almost casual way on a crowd that included children, spraying many people who had already left the road and were attempting to comply with police commands. This behavior is unacceptable.
"It appears that as police moved in on the protest, a handful of individuals threw water bottles and rocks at them. People engaging in violence should be arrested and charged, but it appears none were."
Ray Greene, executive director of the Freedom BLOC (Black Led Organizing Collaborative posted a statement on Facebook Thursday calling on the police chief and Deputy Mayor Marco Sommerville, who is running for mayor, to stop Akron police officers "from torturing citizens" and to fire the eight officers who shot Walker.
"The gestapo tactics will not deter us from the streets in Summit County," he said. "We will continue to march until the 8 officers who killed Jayland Walker are fired."
The officers are on paid administrative leave; the city has launched an internal investigation after the special grand jury decided this week no criminal charges were warranted.
State report: Jayland Walker was 'great person' who was grieving his 'soul mate,' family told BCI
Protest began as peaceful march at Hawkins Plaza
A special grand jury on Monday ruled eight Akron officers were justified in the death of Walker, sparking new outrage and protests in the community.
Walker, 25, was fatally shot more than 40 times on June 27 after a car and foot chase for an equipment violation. He was unarmed during the shooting, but police said he fired a shot from his vehicle less than a minute into the chase. A handgun was found in his vehicle.
Wednesday evening's march was the first to be organized by members of the Walker family. Demetrius Travis Sr., Jayland Walker's cousin, said his cousin, Alexis Walker, felt compelled to arrange it. A spokesperson for Pamela Walker, Jayland Walker's mother, said she did not sponsor the march.
Alexis declined to speak with a reporter.
“Over the last ninie months, she didn’t know what she could do,” he said. “Today, she decided to get up and use her voice, but she knew I was involved, and the people I deal with, so she utilized her big cousin.”
The march began with about a dozen people around 6 p.m. at Hawkins Plaza and proceeded north up South Hawkins Avenue to Copley Road. Numerous people and vehicles joined along the way.Wednesday’s march was an effort to affect change, Travis said.
The group, comprised of men, women and children, set out down South Hawkins Avenue, blocking traffic, and headed north toward Copley Road. A column of honking vehicles formed up behind the marchers who held up fists and signs as they went.
More: Black leaders urge Akron to seek unity despite outrage over Jayland Walker case
At the intersection of South Hawkins Avenue and Bellvue Avenue, a man was stopped, watching the marchers pass and holding his fist out the window.
The man was William Dancy, who said demonstrations such as these send the message that people are fed up with a system in dire need of change.
“This is to let them know that we’re ready for change, we’re not going to allow this to keep going on,” Dancy said.
Upon reaching the intersection of South Hawkins Avenue and Copley Road, protesters stopped, cars from the convoy circling up around them. There they stayed for roughly 15 minutes, chanting and taking a break to drink water distributed by other marchers before moving up Copley Road.
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police, Summit deputies use chemicals at Jayland Walker protest
