The eight Akron police officers who are under investigation for their involvement in the June shooting death of Jayland Walker have returned to work in the office, the Akron Police Department said in a news release Tuesday.
The officers, who have been on paid administrative leave since Walker’s death June 27, are being reassigned to administrative duty due to staffing issues within the department after several officers have left, said Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett.
The officers, whose names haven’t been released, won’t be in the community on patrol, but will provide “internal support” until the investigation is complete, according to the police department. They aren’t in uniform and aren’t responding to calls.
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“We recognize that this decision will cause concern for the Walker family and the community, and we are sensitive to those concerns,” the police department said in its release. “The Akron Police Department has worked very hard over the last several months to maintain a continuity of services to the community. Meeting these challenges has become increasingly difficult with the growing staffing concerns. These shortages have resulted in fewer officers responding to calls for service and have strained our patrol shifts.”
Walker, 25, was fatally shot more than 40 times by Akron police after an attempted traffic stop for minor equipment violations. After a car and foot chase, Walker was shot by police, according to body-camera footage released by the city.
He was unarmed during the shooting, but officials said he fired a shot from his vehicle less than a minute into the chase. A handgun was found in his vehicle.
Walker’s death has led to multiple protests over the last nearly four months in downtown Akron as demonstrators demand justice and accountability for the eight officers involved in his death.
The NAACP has asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to open a federal civil rights investigation into Walker’s death.
The announcement about the eight officers returning to work came one day after a rally was held for Walker, during which his mother, Pam Walker, told people “please don’t give up on us.”
“I am disappointed, but I’m not surprised,” Akron NAACP President Judi Hill said Tuesday of the officers returning to work. “I just think the timing of this is very interesting, after we just had a unity march.”
Hill said she questioned whether returning the eight to office duty will help maintain police services.
“There are some people who feel like they’re getting paid to sit at home and it’s a vacation,” Hill said. “My take has always been I would prefer them not be in that building.”
The Freedom BLOC in Akron released a statement on social media Tuesday condemning the decision to allow the officers to return to work. The officers should not be working in the Akron Police Department, the group said.
“This is unacceptable, and our community is outraged,” the statement read in part. “That is the exact opposite of what the Walker Family and our community have been demanding for the past 106 days. … This is not justice for Jayland Walker. … Police do not keep us safe. We keep us safe. This is exactly why we need a civilian review board, which is just the first step in moving toward a world where there is real accountability and justice and where every one of us can life full and healthy lives, no exceptions.”
Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello retweeted the Freedom BLOC statement to his Twitter followers.
Beacon Journal news partner News 5 Cleveland said Ken Abbarno and DiCello, the Walker family attorneys, released the following statement in which they said the officers should be placed back on leave:
“The planning behind the decision to reinstate the police officers involved in this summer’s tragic killing of Jayland Walker is callous and ignores the Walker family’s needs for a fair process.
“The decision to reinstate these officers – even to desk duty – fails to take into account a pending investigation into their actions that culminated in Jayland’s brutal shooting and unjustifiable death resulting from a barrage of more than 90 bullets. This decision undermines the legitimacy of the investigative process the Walker family has been asked to follow and which BCI has led to this point. On behalf of the Walker family, we call on the City of Akron to do the right thing and place the officers back on leave until the investigation has been completed.”
Mylett told News 5 Cleveland that the department has had a staffing decrease over the last few weeks to the point where it has become a “crisis,” saying, “I’m being put in a position where I may end up having to decide to cut some services that we provide to the community because we just don’t have enough people. And that’s certainly something I do not want to do.”
“Bringing back and reassigning” the officers to administrative duties within the office provides a service to the community, Mylett said. Returning the officers to duty on “internal-facing assignments” also provides the department more flexibility, he said.
“It’s imperative that I staff the line of patrol officers first,” he said.
Akron police data shows 12 resignations and 16 retirements as of August
According to data from the Akron Police Department, there have been 12 resignations and 16 retirements as of August this year. The department saw nine resignations and 11 retirements in 2018, seven resignations and 15 retirements in 2019, five resignations and 12 retirements in 2020 and 10 resignations and 16 retirements in 2021.
That means that since 2018, the department has lost 113 officers between resignations and retirements.
“Morale is pretty low in this police department right now,” Mylett said, saying June 27 will have a far-reaching impact on a department that has seen the exit of 13 officers since June 27 and 31 total this year.
Mylett said he expects more officers to leave the department before the end of the year.
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The police department said that the decision to administratively reassign the eight officers “was not made in haste,” saying “various community leaders and other stakeholders were consulted by Chief Mylett and APD leadership” weeks ago.
“We thank these community members for engaging in honest, difficult conversations,” the release states. “The consensus of these conversations was an agreement that this step would provide needed relief and support to ensure there are no interruptions in the services we provide to the community.”
Mylett said two advisory councils — one made up of community leaders and another consisting of pastors and others in the religious community — agreed independently from one another that the decision to return the eight officers to work “was the right decision for this moment.”
“This decision is made solely and squarely on my responsibility to provide public safety for this community, and I’m going to use all the resources at my disposal to accomplish that mission,” Mylett said.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are continuing to conduct an investigation. The case then will be submitted to the Summit County grand jury. The police department’s Office of Professional Standards and Accountability will also conduct a separate internal investigation, with the results given to Mylett and the Akron police auditor for their review.
Mylett has said the department isn’t naming the officers involved in Walker’s shooting as a safety measure. The city has previously cited threats to the officers to justify redacting names from public records sought by the Beacon Journal.
Mylett said the department is “taking precautions” to ensure the eight officers are safe, and said the department does not intend to release the names of the officers out of continuing concern for their security.
Staff writer Jim Mackinnon contributed to this report. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.