Akron鈥檚 new citizen police oversight board elected leaders and passed official rules during its first meeting Friday.
The board elected Kemp Boyd, executive director of Love Akron, and Donzella Anuzskiewicz, a former mitigation specialist at the U.S. Northern District Court, as its chair and vice chair. All but one of the nine board members were present for the meeting, which took place in Akron City Council chambers.
The board also approved its rules, which were drafted by the city鈥檚 law department and include provisions outlined in the charter, such as requiring the board to schedule regular board meetings.
海角破解版 has requested a copy of the rules. Per the charter, Akron City Council must now approve the rules at an upcoming meeting.
Board members met with Philip Young, the city鈥檚 police auditor, whom they will now oversee. Young, who has served as police auditor for 13 years, said he is delighted the board is finally seated.
鈥淚鈥檝e been wanting this for a long time,鈥� Young told the board during the meeting.
Young, who was the sole employee of the auditor鈥檚 office until an administrative assistant was hired four months ago, reviews complaints filed against the Akron Police Department.
It has been difficult for Young to request policy changes based on some of the more frequent complaints, he said, partly due to pushback from the police union, and also because he has been working by himself.
Many Akron Police officers are on board with increasing police accountability, Young said, while others 鈥渨ant to do whatever they want.鈥�
Currently, investigations into complaints are handled internally by Akron Police, and are conducted by the supervisor of the officer being investigated, Young said. That鈥檚 one example of a policy he鈥檇 like to see changed, Young said, but Akron鈥檚 police union rejected that idea when the most recent collective bargaining agreement was adopted.
Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett also introduced himself to the board members and said he is looking forward to the board鈥檚 work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long journey to get here, and the day is finally here,鈥� Mylett said.
Mylett hopes the board can increase transparency about the department鈥檚 procedures and 鈥渞eassure the public that there is nothing behind the curtain,鈥� he said.
The board鈥檚 main role will be to review complaints filed against Akron Police and recommend policy changes. Members also briefly discussed their role in conducting 鈥渋nvestigations鈥� into complaints.
According to the charter, the board鈥檚 oversight may include 鈥渋nvestigation of alleged misconduct by members of the Division of Police鈥� and 鈥渃onduct investigations of the operations and policies of the Division of Police.鈥�
The board also heard guidance from the city鈥檚 law department about its adherence to Ohio鈥檚 open meetings laws. The board鈥檚 meetings are open to the public and meeting minutes must be taken.
Diane Lewis had a scheduling conflict and was not able to attend the Friday meeting.
The board voted to schedule its meetings for Wednesday evenings in April.
In the next meeting, they hope to hear a report from Young about the department鈥檚 frequent complaints.
The board is also hoping to meet with community members who called for the oversight board and worked to gather support for it at an upcoming Saturday breakfast.
The board members are: Beverly Richards, CEO of Easterseals, a nonprofit focused on individuals with disabilities; Tristan Reed, a local mental health professional; Shawn Peoples, a retired Canton police officer and current bus driver for Akron METRO RTA;
Donzella Anuzskiewicz, retired mitigation specialist for the U.S. Northern District Court; Diane Lewis, community organizer; Caitlin Castle, College Access Program Manager at Firestone Community Learning Center; Robert Gippin, former judge at the Summit County Common Pleas Court and Kemp Boyd, director of Love Akron, a Christian-based community center.
