'It's not fair': Akron residents call for more diverse options for police chief

Akron community members sent a clear message at a Tuesday night forum held at Buchtel Community Learning Center: Pause the search for a new police chief until the scope can be expanded.

The meeting — held by the Black Elected Officials of Summit County, the Akron NAACP and the Freedom BLOC — focused on the small pool of applicants being considered for the role after the city pivoted mid-search and said state law prohibits external candidates.

Gregory Harrison, a retired police officer and pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, said he wasn't advocating for any specific candidate. Rather, he was advocating that the process be fair.

"Changing the rules in the middle of anything is unfair," he said. "... This is not a black and white issue because if the test is given and graded fairly, if opportunities are given and graded fairly, then the natural progression of supervisors would be reflective of the community and of the police department. But when that system changes and it's not fair, then you have what you have today."

At the end of the forum, Malik defended his decision to continue with the process.

"I can tell you, I have spent a lot of time thinking about this," he said "and I can tell you that I believe that pausing the process to pass a charter amendment in November would do more harm than good, is my opinion. I could be wrong about that, but I'm just giving you my opinion."

But Linda Omobien, at-large city councilwoman and president of the Black Elected Officials of Summit County, said the search should only proceed when people who are more representative of the community than the two white officers currently eligible for the position can be considered — Deputy Chiefs Jesse Leeser and Brian Harding, who is serving as acting chief.

She said the justification used to keep one Black police captain out of the applicant pool is that he has too little experience in his current position.

Omobien said Harding was allowed to take a test to become a captain a year early. Then-Lt. Mike Miller also requested to take the test early, but was denied, Omobien said, despite only having five months to wait until reaching eligibility.

Black elected officials raise 'grave concerns' over underground police newsletter with racist content

Omobien said the Black Elected Officials of Summit County also have "grave concerns" over an underground newsletter circulating in the police department called Signal 44.

The newsletter dates back to at least 1997. In 1998, it became the subject of an internal affairs review. The newsletter, written by a white officer, contains racist depictions of Black Akronites, disparages people who seek housing with the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority and more.

In the community events calendar section from a Nov. 5 1997 issue, a "community day in Edgewood" is advertised as featuring a "shell casing hunt for the kids."

An issue from May of 1998 described a neighborhood as a "preserve," police as "game wardens" and residents as "species."

At-Large Councilman Eric Garrett wrote in an April 9 letter to the mayor that through the civil suit against the city by Jayland Walker's family, it was discovered that acting chief Harding found the content of the newsletter "funny." Attached to the letter were several annotated pages of the newsletter and the section of the lawsuit pertaining to Harding.

Those attending the forum were given copies of Garrett's letter.

"There are years' worth of these publications, along with audio supplementals, that the administration fails to request, and/or the police department fails to release," Garrett wrote. "It is unconscionable for Akron's black community to know that the chief of police would find these racists publications non-offensive and funny."

One woman expressed her outrage over the Signal 44 newsletter, calling it "an affront to my community."

In 2020, Harrison brought the newsletter to Malik.

During Tuesday's forum, Malik said he read all the available issues and called Signal 44 "awful."

Malik said any questions people have about the Signal 44 newsletter were fair game during the two community town halls being held for residents to share thoughts and ask questions of the two police chief candidates, Harding and Leeser.

Both are being held at Buchtel Community Learning Center, 1040 Copley Road, on April 20 at 10 a.m. and April 23 at 6 p.m.

Critics question justification for limiting Akron police chief search

During Tuesday night's forum, Akron attorney Imokhai Okolo gave a presentation on why he believes that the city's legal interpretation of the conflict between the city charter and the Ohio Revised Code is wrong.

He also encouraged Malik to release the legal opinions he's cited as justification for not pausing the search.

The Beacon Journal has requested copies of the legal opinion under the state's open records laws; the request was denied by the city, which cited "attorney-client confidentiality."

The Black Elected Officials of Summit County group has been critical of Malik's handling of the situation. The group insists Malik has the power under the city charter to appoint an outside candidate to the role.

Malik said that, according to his law department, his hands are tied by the state statute, saying that a public official who hires in violation of the rule can be removed from office as a consequence.

'From one tragedy to the next'

Residents speaking at the forum focused on four questions posed by moderator Judi Hill, president of the Akron NAACP:

• What made you come to the forum?

• How important is it to you that there is a diverse candidate pool for our next police chief, and why?

• What does a fair police chief search process look like to you?

• How important is it that the next chief live in Akron?

Fela Sutton, organizer of Akron's Juneteenth celebration, thinks the job should go to the most qualified candidate with the least association with the problems in the department.

"It's too important for the future of the city and the future of our children to pick somebody out of this department, who's been in this department," said Sutton, "who's sat around for all the mess in this department and then award them the prize of being chief."

Former City Councilman Mike Williams said the next police chief should live in Akron because it demonstrates a commitment to the community.

Robert Hubbard, who was Jayland Walker's wrestling coach, said, "If we don't bring somebody here that brings real systemic change to the way it seems the police force is acting now, we're going to lurch from one tragedy to the next."

"What I heard here today is a reflection of what we've all asked for and what we've been saying," said Hill after the Q&A session. "So it's interesting, it's not just one or two, but it's a collective. It's a collective voice of what we've been saying after Jayland Walker."

'Imagine my frustration'

Malik addressed the crowd near the end of the meeting and said he's aware of the dearth of racially diverse leadership in the city's safety forces.

"I recognize the level of feeling, the level of hurt, the level of frustration in the room around the issue, and I take it very seriously," he said.

Malik reiterated his belief that the best option for the city is to appoint a police chief as soon as possible, and that he is still committed to getting a charter amendment on the ballot in November that will eliminate the discrepancy between the city charter and state law that he said prohibits him from hiring an external candidate for police chief.

He said that upon beginning the search last fall, the intent was to cast as wide a net as possible.

"External candidates, internal candidates, even going down to say that any supervisors with five years or more of service as supervisors were eligible, whether they be sergeants, or lieutenants or captains," he said.

He recalled that in January, he was boastful about how open and comprehensive the search would be.

"So imagine my frustration when our law department will come to me and say that that was against our city charter," said Malik.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron residents, Black leaders question city's police chief search