The Akron Police Department has accepted one of the recommendations of the city's police auditor when it comes to dispatching officers to mental health crisis calls.
Dispatchers have been instructed to request Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) in situations when there have been previous police responses and mention this history in their dispatch notes.
Akron police auditor Anthony Finnell recommended this change in one of his previous reports, when officers used force on a juvenile known for having mental and behavioral issues.
“That we should add a note in the police file, in the police dispatch notes, to be aware of the situation at the home, since they had been there numerous times,” Finnell said during Wednesday’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board meeting. “The police department agreed with that, and the change was made.”
Police were called to a home in May for a juvenile with behavioral health issues, according to Finnell's report. Police had been called to this home several times before.
On this day, the juvenile became violent with officers, and while they tried to restrain her, she bit an officer's leg. He punched the side of her head three times before she released the bite.
Finnell found this force objectively reasonable, but recommended dispatchers add a note to the address of the incident to send a CIT officer or the Summit County Outreach Team (SCOUT) if available.
“I called dispatched [sic] on September 26th and instructed them to add caution notes requesting the CIT/SCOUT Team for any future mental wellness calls. That change has been made as of that date,” Captain Michael Miller wrote in an email Monday to the city’s public safety strategist, Tony Ingram.
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding did not agree with all of Finnell’s recommendations, however.
He disagreed with a previous report in which Finnell found an officer’s takedown of a suspect was “not objectively reasonable.” The officer will not be disciplined, Harding wrote.
In January, Akron Police Officer Timothy Shoemaker appeared to body slam 24-year-old Dierra Fields while arresting her in her home in the city’s Kenmore neighborhood. While the supervisor's investigation found the force to be reasonable because Fields was “resisting arrest,” Finnell disagreed.
In his response, 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.
Harding declined Ideastream Public Media’s request for comment.
Even though Harding disagreed with him, Finnell said the ongoing dialogue between the chief and the review board is still a step toward better accountability.
“We now have what has not happened before in the city of Akron, which is to have some communication about the actions and uses of force by members of the Akron police department,” Finnell said.
An Akron jury acquitted Fields in June of obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
In the letter to the review board, both Harding and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said they are continuing to review the department’s use of force policy.
Police also responded to Finnell’s recommendation over a safety concern he raised in August.
Two police officers left guns unattended while responding to a traffic stop earlier this year. Finnell discovered the concern while reviewing footage for a use-of-force investigation.
The officers found handguns and ammunition in the car, which they placed on the hood of a police vehicle, and arrested the driver. Then, officers used force to remove a passenger from the vehicle, who had an outstanding warrant and refused to get out of the car.
However, while they were pulling him out, both officers who were dealing with the driver in another police car went to assist them — leaving the guns completely unattended in front of a suspect, Finnell said.
Finnell recommended an APD supervisor review the bodycam with the unnamed officers “and use it as a reminder to not leave weapons, whether their own or potential evidence, unsecure at any time,” according to the report. Finnell also asked for these reviews to be documented.
In his email to Ingram, Miller said going forward, police will document any such discussion or counseling following an incident.
