Displaying items by tag: akron police

Wednesday, 26 October 2022 04:13

APD Chief Pens Letter to the Community

Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett responding to the letter that was sent and signed by 43 community and faith leaders this week, condemning his reinstatement of the eight APD officers being investigated for the shooting death of Jayland Walker. Chief Mylett initially justified his decision saying there is a severe staffing shortage that is affecting the Akron Police Department's ability to police the city properly and safely.

In response, those faith leaders wrote, "Whatever staffing crisis there may be, it cannot be more challenging than would be the erosion of any trust remaining between the community and police." Chief Mylett said he was confused and disappointed by the letter from those local leaders as it "inaccurately portrayed" the conversations he had with advisory councils prior to the decision to reinstate those officers.

The Chief noted that the majority of those who signed the letter were not in attendance for those discussions, adding that having his integrity questioned in this matter is "beyond hurtful." Chief Mylett closed his response, saying he stands by his decision to reinstate the eight officers who are still being investigated by the Ohio BCI and Attorney General's Office for the death of Jayland Walker.

See the full "letter to the community" from Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett below: 

CHIEF MYLETT LETTER

Published in Local News
Update: Akron Police say the suspect, 24-year-old Jose Castro, is in custody. He was arrested in Cleveland along Detroit Avenue. Castro is charged with Kidnapping and Felonious Assault. 
 
Akron Police are looking for a suspect at the center of an Amber Alert issued Monday night.
 
According to reports, just before 7 p.m., police responded to the eleven-hundred block of Tulip Street after a report of a woman shot. Police found the victim, unconcious, with multiple gunshot wounds outside of a home. Witnesses said the man who shot her took off with a four-year-old child.
 
A statewide Amber Alert was issued, but the child was returned some time before 11 p.m. Monday. The shooting victim is in critical condition and the suspect, 24-year-old Jose Castro is still on the loose.
 
See more from the Akron Police Department below: 
 
At approximately 6:50 PM tonight (Monday), Akron Police responded to the 1100 block of Tulip St. after receiving multiple calls for shots fired, as well as reports of a female being shot. When officers arrived on scene, they found the unconscious female outside with multiple gunshot wounds. While she was being treated by EMS, officers spoke with witnesses who informed them that after the shooting, the suspect took the victim’s child and fled the scene in a vehicle. Officers were able to view video footage from a nearby camera that showed the suspect grab the child, get into a vehicle registered to the victim, and flee the scene. An Amber Alert has been issued for Fabian Claudio-Castro. The child is a 4-year-old Hispanic male. He was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt and dark colored shorts. The vehicle is a 2016 Kia Soul, grey in color. The plate on the vehicle is Ohio registration, HLD9706. The victim was transported to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital and is currently in critical condition. Consider the suspect to be armed and very dangerous.
 
Update: The child, Fabian Claudio-Castro, has been returned unharmed to Akron detectives. The Amber Alert has been cancelled. Warrants for Felonious Assault and Kidnapping have been issued for the child’s father, Jose Castro. He is 24 years old.
Published in Local News
Tuesday, 13 September 2022 05:20

Three Suspects Sought In Akron Shooting

Akron Police are looking for three men involved in a shooting back on September 9th.

According to the APD report, the 47-year-old victim was shot on his porch in the 800 block of Merton Avenue. He says the three individuals were talking about around 9:20 p.m. on the 9th, words were exchanged, and then one of the three pulled a gun and fired multiple shots. The man was wounded in the arm, but will be OK.

See more from the Akron Police Department below: 

Published in Local News
Wednesday, 17 August 2022 04:37

APD: Burglary Suspects Used Stolen Credit Card

Akron Police say suspects used a stolen debit card that was taken during a burglary earlier this month. 
 
The man and woman (pictured) were caught on security cameras using the debit card at the Circle K on 13th Street in the city. They also allegedly swiped the stolen card at a nearby Subway and Reem's Market.
 

 
The card was stolen from a home in the 900 block of Lakewood Boulevard back on August 5th.
Published in Local News

Akron Police are looking for the vandal who spray-painted obscenities and threats on the Right to Life Northeast Ohio building and sidewalk at 572 West Market Street earlier this month.

The graffiti was discovered the morning of July 8th, according to APD. Windows of the building were also broken out.

Police shared surveillance footage of the suspect in action:

Anyone with information is asked to call Akron Police.

Published in Local News
Akron Police and the Summit County Medical Examiner's office have released more information regarding the pedestrian that was killed along I-77 North at Vernon Odom Boulevard early Wednesday morning.
 
The victim has been identified as 29-year-old Morgan Guice from Akron. 
 
Akron Police say she was crossing the interstate eastbound from the southbound shoulder and she climbed over the median barrier into the northbound lanes when she was hit. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
 
The 64-year-old driver of the vehicle who hit the woman was unharmed and is cooperating with the investigation.
 
Several lanes of the highway were closed well into the morning commute on Wednesday. There was a second accident later in the morning as well. 
Published in Local News
More than three weeks after the fatal shooting of four-year-old Journei Tolbert and 40-year-old Johnny Gaiter, Akron Police are releasing footage of a vehicle they say may be involved.
 

 
The two were shot and killed after someone opened fire on a group of people during a party in a parking lot in the 700 block of Boulevard Street the night of July 8th.
 
On Wednesday, APD released pictures of a dark-colored SUV that detectives say the suspects fled the scene in. See those photos now at WAKR.net. Anyone with information is asked to contact Akron Police.
Published in Local News
Monday, 18 July 2022 04:27

Akron Curfew Lifted

Akron's curfew is lifted - Mayor Dan Horrigan signed an executive order ending the previously imposed curfew early Sunday morning.
 

 
A curfew for the Downtown Akron area had been in place since Monday, July 4th, after protests turned into riots the night before after the body camera footage of the Akron Police shooting of Jayland Walker was released by the city. Days later the curfew was removed, but then reinstated after nearly 50 people were arrested Wednesday the 6th into Thursday the 7th. The week of Jayland Walker's memorial services, his family, who maintained their call peace since the release of the body cam footage, asked protestors to pause their demonstrations out of respect. Since this past Wednesday's services, there have been a few peaceful demonstrations throughout the city.
Published in Local News
Thursday, 07 July 2022 06:12

Akron Curfew Lifted, Protests Continue

Less than 24 hours after Mayor Dan Horrigan lifted the curfew implemented for the Downtown area in the wake of protests that turned violent Sunday night into Monday morning, protests and riots continued in Akron. 

Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, a group of protesters reportedly showed up Downtown outside of the Akron Police Department headquarters on South High Street and then moved outside of Mayor Dan Horrigan's office, eventually moving to outside of the mayor's home. In an interview with the Ray Horner Morning show on Thursday, Mayor Horrigan explained that protesters made threats against him and his family and that one person drove up onto his lawn. 

In total six people were arrested in Akron Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Charges range from rioting to failure to disperse and more, according to the Akron Municipal Court's case search website. The website also revealed that two of those arrested were not from Akron. First, Jacob Blake Sr. was charged with rioting in Akron - he is the father of Jacob Blake who was shot and seriously injured by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020. That incident led to rioting in Kenosha. Also arrested Wednesday night was Bianca Austin, the aunt of Breonna Taylor who was shot and killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky in 2020.  

The latests arrests come after Mayor Horrigan issued the following statement regarding the curfew and protests: 

Akron Curfew

The continuing protests are in response to the Akron Police shooting death of Jayland Walker, whose family has called for peace in the city as the investigation into his death continues. As for reinstating the curfew in Akron, Mayor Horrigan has not yet indicated that he will do so. 

Published in Local News

The City of Akron and the Akron Police Department have released the body-worn camera footage from last Monday morning's officer-involved shooting death of Jayland Walker, 25. 

Due to the nature of the video, WAKR has chosen not to show that footage here. 

Prior to releasing the body-cam footage during a press conference on Sunday, July 3rd, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, Deputy Mayor Marco Sommerville, and Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett all addressed the public. All three city leaders expressed their condolences to the family of Jayland Walker. Further, both Mayor Horrigan and Chief Mylett thanked the Walker family for their call for peace in the city following the release of the footage. 

Protests and demonstrations have continued in the city since mid-last week and are expected to continue through the holiday weekend and beyond. The City of Akron canceled all Fourth of July events that were scheduled, including the Rib, White, & Blue festival at Lock 3. In a statement released by Mayor Dan Horrigan, he said that this is not the time for a city-led celebration. 

The video starts with the police chase and then shows Jayland Walker exiting through the front passenger door of his vehicle, that was still moving when he exited, and then continued to run from officers. A taser was deployed by at least one officer, but that did not stop Walker who continued to run. Seconds later, as shown in the video, APD officers open fire, striking Walker several times. The gunfire stops after a few seconds and Walker, whose body was blurred out in the video per the request of his family, was left motionless on the ground. 

After the release of the body-cam footage on Sunday, Police Chief Mylett did not comment on whether or not the shooting was justifed, only deferring to the Ohio BCI investigation which he noted will take time. The Chief did say he wanted to clear up some misinformation being distributed since the shooting early Monday morning, noting that the number of shots fired by Akron Police officers was never confirmed, but is likely close to the number, 90, that has been reported. 

Chief Mylett noted that officers immediately attempted to provide CPR to Walker until Akron Fire / EMS arrived on scene, shortly after which Walker was pronounced dead. Inside of Walker's vehicle, police found a gun and a loaded magazine on the front seat.

After Sunday's press conference, the City of Akron release the following regarding the shooting of Jayland Walker and the ongoing investigation: 

Today, following a press conference, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett released body-worn camera footage from all officers involved in the shooting of Jayland Walker that took place June 27. That footage is available (at the City of Akron's YouTube page). 

A new city ordinance, adopted last year (available in full here), requires the City to release video of an incident involving a police officer’s use of deadly force against a person or use of force resulting in serious bodily injury to a person, within seven days of the incident. The initial release must include footage from at least three cameras, assuming multiple devices captured the events.  In this case, the city has released footage from all eight officers involved in the incident as well as five other officers who were on scene but did not shoot.

The city announced on June 28 that it had contacted the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and requested that BCI begin an independent investigation of the incident. That process is already underway.

“I am urging the public to do one of the most difficult things I can ask, and that is to be patient and let the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation do their work," said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. "It's my commitment to be as open and transparent as we can be, given that there is an ongoing independent investigation. I trust that investigation to be fair, thorough, and just.” 

"By formally requesting that BCI handle this initial investigation, we are following what I believe to be best practice and which many communities across the country are now doing," said Chief Steve Mylett. "Utilizing an independent entity to conduct the investigation will be a further step in increasing trust and accountability with our citizens.”

Akron has also released a map of the pursuit, a timeline of the incident, a transcript of the dispatch conversation during the pursuit, a description of the investigatory process and basic information on the officers involved including race, gender, years of service, and disciplinary record. That information is available here.

"Releasing the body-worn footage in a timely fashion and moving to an independent investigation are the types of changes our community has been requesting for decades," said Deputy Mayor Marco Sommerville. "From here, we need to be patient and allow that investigation to run its course. I'm urging peace for our city throughout this process."

The city was joined at the press conference by faith leaders in the community who stood and echoed the city’s call for peace.

Days after the shooting, the Summit County Medical Examiner's report concluded that Walker died from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was "homicide." The Ohio Bureau of Investigation is now handling the case, as per the immediate request of Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett. The following is a statement from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office on the matter: 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today issued the following statement regarding a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred in Akron this week: 

“People want and deserve answers, and they shall have them. BCI will conduct a complete, fair and expert investigation,” Yost said. “Body-worn camera footage is just one view of the whole picture – before drawing conclusions, the full review must take place.” 

Yost noted that the investigative file will be made public at the conclusion of the case, a practice his office began last year. People who are interested can review the results of prior OICI investigations on the Attorney General’s website.

Yost said there may be additional civilian witnesses and urged them to talk to BCI investigators by calling 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446) or by filing a tip online

“The goal is the truth, and we need to talk to anyone who knows anything. Silence will never produce justice.”

 

 

Published in Local News
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