Akron Mayor Shammas Malik remains "confident" in the city's police chief amid calls for his resignation.
“I want to be very clear – I am confident in Chief Harding’s judgment and ability to lead our police department," Malik said in a written statement Friday.
On Thursday, Akron City Councilmember Eric Garrett called for police chief Brian Harding to resign, writing that his recent actions have “eroded trust” in the police department’s leadership.
Garrett criticized Harding’s rejection of a police auditor’s report that found an officer’s body slam of a suspect, Dierra Fields, to be not objectively reasonable. Harding disagreed with the report and said the takedown was justified.
“Chief Harding's actions send a dangerous and alarming message to our community,” Garrett wrote. “His rejection of the auditor's recommendations suggests that he is willing to tolerate officers slamming, choking out, disrespecting, and even killing Black residents without consequence.”
In June, an Akron jury acquitted Fields, who is Black, of obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
Malik added in the Friday statement that Issue 10, which created the city's Citizens' Police Oversight Board and auditor's office, was intended to "create a meaningful, substantive dialogue where the auditor could offer a professional, independent viewpoint about police use of force, citizen complaints, and more."
"The law does not insist that the auditor’s office and the police chief always see these difficult issues the same way – and both of these officials owe us their best judgment, not always blanket agreement," Malik wrote.
Garrett’s letter came days after an activist group, Freedom BLOC, issued a statement calling for Harding’s resignation.
“This is not just unacceptable; it's a direct threat to our community's safety and well-being,” Garrett added in his letter. “Our police leadership must set a higher standard that respects every Akron resident's dignity and humanity, regardless of race.”
In his response to the auditor’s report, Harding referenced the U.S. Supreme Court case Graham v. Connor, in which the Court ruled “if force was reasonable to the involved officer at the time and under the stress of the event is later found to be unnecessary, the officer should not face a penalty for his or her actions."
Both Harding and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said they are continuing to review the department’s use of force policy.
Malik plans to expand on his thoughts next week, he said, during a press conference on Wednesday.
Garrett also noted seven ongoing lawsuits that name the city of Akron and its police department that he says could cost millions in taxpayer dollars. These lawsuits include one filed by the family of Jayland Walker, which is seeking $45 million in damages.
Walker was fatally shot by eight Akron police officers in June 2022 after a car and foot chase.
Harding was sworn in as chief in May after a months-long hiring process that was controversial for being an internal-only search. Malik made that decision due to an Ohio law that he believes only allows police chiefs to be hired through promotion.
Harding has not responded to Ideastream Public Media’s request for comment.
Read Malik's full statement below.
“I want to be very clear – I am confident in Chief Harding’s judgment and ability to lead our police department. I understand that there are concerns about my administration’s response to the auditor’s review of the use of force incident involving Ms. Fields. The purpose of Issue 10 was to create a meaningful, substantive dialogue where the auditor could offer a professional, independent viewpoint about police use of force, citizen complaints, and more. The law does not insist that the auditor’s office and the police chief always see these difficult issues the same way – and both of these officials owe us their best judgment, not always blanket agreement.
We are at the start of this process, six months in. Mr. Finnell’s office has submitted six reports to us – we have replied to three and are working diligently on responses to the other three. We have accepted one of the auditor’s most important recommendations, to review our city’s use of force policy, the underlying document that guides when and how our police use force – with meaningful public input.
This issue touches upon basic needs for our community – how we create safety, and how we ensure dignity and respect in difficult circumstances. Our administration is committed to working on these issues head on and I plan to share more thoughts next week.”
