Letters: Akron should drop charge against teen who was shot by officer

Don’t charge the victim

I can’t decide if it’s more ironic or bizarre that the city of Akron has chosen to press a misdemeanor charge against Tavion Koonce-Williams, the 15-year-old wounded in a classic “shoot first, ask questions later” encounter with Akron Police Officer Ryan Westlake while the young man held a toy gun as he walked down the street.

The bringing of this charge is the highest irony in a city where Jayland Walker was shot to death by police officers who faced no criminal charges whatsoever for their actions. It’s the same city where, in 2015, Daniel Kovacevic ambled about downtown with a rifle strapped to his back, as is his right in an open-carry state like Ohio.

But that was not the right of Tamir Rice in Cleveland in 2014 nor was it the right of Tavion Koonce-Williams in 2024.

How bizarre that Officer Westlake felt so threatened by this young man, who was not “brandishing” the gun at anyone or anything in particular, that he fired a shot that could have killed or seriously wounded him or someone else. Brandishing, the dictionary reminds us, is “waving or flourishing (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.”

This charge is retribution for the April 12 news conference in which Tavion’s lawyer, Imokhai Okolo, issued a list of demands for the APD, mayor and city, and at which Tavion’s mother, Angel Williams, had some choice words for all three as she worked through the mental anguish and swirl of emotions that any mother would be expected to experience were their child subjected to such a life-changing event.

The bringing of this charge adds insult to the injury that Tavion suffered to his wrist and to his and many of his fellow Akron residents’ trust in the performance of its police force. That trust was already in tatters not just for what was done to Jayland Walker and many who protested his killing, but also for those of us for whom the names Solomon Dandridge, Jeffery Stephens Sr. and Demetrus Vinson still mean something.

I call in the strongest possible terms for the charge against Tavian Koonce-Williams to be dropped, and that the city apologizes to everyone for the audacity of charging the victim in this incident.

It seems to me that the people of Akron have other things to give to him than a criminal record — and the lifetime of hardship that comes with it — for carrying a toy gun in public where so many scared onlookers could be offended. I know where the real crime is in this case, and this charge is not the proper one to bring.

Tom Rizzo, Akron

Don’t point fake guns

I heard the parents of Tavion Koonce-Williams on TV, saying that the Akron policeman who shot their son in the hand should be fired.

They should be thanking the officer for not wounding the teen more seriously. They should take some blame for letting their son have a gun that looks real and allowing him to walk down a street and point it at homes, obviously scaring someone enough to call police.

Shame on the parents for not teaching their son the danger of pretending to shoot at houses with a gun (toy or not). They shouldn’t blame an officer for doing his job.

Linda Tubbs, Tallmadge

Media stoking division

USA TODAY reporter Zac Anderson’s article “Trump faces opposition from former aides” would have been so much better if he had taken time to listen to both the 16 who spoke out against Donald Trump and then made an effort to get the thoughts of the “dozens of Cabinet members, hundreds of White House employees, and thousands of political appointees who proudly served in the Trump Administration and continue to strongly support President Trump,” who he refers to in a quote from Karoline Leavitt, a Trump spokesperson.

In one section, four of the eight quotes were from CNN interviews, two from the Washington Post and one from ABC. To ensure a balanced news article, why were there no quotes from the dozens of Cabinet members, hundreds of White House employees or thousands of political appointees who served in the Trump administration and remained loyal to him? At least a quote or two from OAN, Fox or Newsmax would have made the article seem less biased.

I would also question the remarks by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence who both competed for the Republican nomination, and were soundly beaten by Trump.

As a side note, I recently attended a talk at the Hudson Library by former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson, one of those who expressed concern about Trump’s character. I wanted to learn why she repeatedly remarked that Trump was the most grave threat to U.S. democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.

During the program, she said numerous times that Trump was dangerous. She told the audience that on Jan. 6, 2021, he had leapt over the seat and grabbed the steering wheel of the vehicle that he was riding in and ordered the driver to take him to the Capitol. The next day when the transcripts came out, America learned that never happened. I didn’t see that in Anderson’s article.

Anderson reported that former Attorney General Bill Barr said in a CNN interview that he didn’t think Trump should be near the Oval Office. The same day, I read in Epoch Times that Barr, in an interview with Fox News, said he believes the trial involving the former president is an “abomination” and politicized. In that article, Barr also said he would vote for Trump despite his prior criticism of his boss.

Finally, Anderson reported that former National Security Adviser John Bolton, “a stalwart of Republican administrations for decades,” stated that the number of Trump administrative officials who campaigned against him proves that Trump has a flawed character, lack of knowledge, lack of philosophy and a lack of fitness.

I don’t think it proves anything except the fact that the media is doing its part to ensure the political divide remains strong in our nation.

Sue Rice, Munroe Falls

Equal time, please

The day you run a Sunday full-page negative story about Joe Biden is the day I’ll consider renewing my Beacon Journal subscription.

Lynne Abramovich, Akron

Trump created this crisis

President Donald Trump opened a Pandora’s box with his Supreme Court appointments who were eager to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now that they have, women are being deprived of their rights, suffering, and even dying, all over America.

The most recent example — the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow a six-week abortion ban to go into effect — means that millions of women in Florida and across the Southeast will live in a cruel reality where they face a choice between putting their lives at risk or traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to get care.

Doctors will continue to be threatened with criminal prosecution for doing their jobs, and women may be barred from getting the health care they need in the event of rape or incest.

Trump created this health care crisis for women, and he has no plans to stop now.

Please plan to vote for the only person who trusts women to make their own reproductive decisions: President Joe Biden.

Charlotte Onderick, Stow

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Letters: Akron teen shouldn’t be charged in toy gun incident