Akron will have an 11-member civilian police review board, now that an ordinance proposed by Mayor Dan Horrigan.
Activists who have been calling for police reform in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker, however, are not satisfied with this plan.
Akron NAACP President Judi Hill and Ray Greene Jr., executive director of the community organizing group Freedom BLOC, are encouraging people to vote in November for a instead.
If passed, that .
One of their main concerns is that the mayor鈥檚 ordinance can be changed by future legislation, while their plan would be codified in the city鈥檚 charter, Greene said.
鈥淲hat the mayor did yesterday is not permanent, and what we鈥檙e doing is permanent and forever, and I think that鈥檚 what [we鈥檝e] got to keep our eye on,鈥� Greene said.
Future mayors and council members might not support the review board, and could decide to do away with it, Hill added.
鈥淭hey could change it tomorrow. They could change it next week,鈥� she said. 鈥淥nce it becomes a charter amendment, it is in 鈥� and we have to make the changes. And that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e working toward. We鈥檙e working toward permanency.鈥�
The mayor鈥檚 ordinance includes a goal of codifying the review board in a charter amendment in November 2023. In his remarks before city council鈥檚 vote, Vice President Jeff Fusco said this gives city leaders time to figure out logistics.
鈥淭his is a way that we can move forward and adjust as we go, and make sure this gets completed the right way,鈥� Fusco said.
City leaders and residents have called for a civilian review board for several years, but efforts were renewed earlier this summer after Akron Police fatally shot Walker, an unarmed Black man
Hill does not think the year-long delay is necessary, because she and other leaders have been working on a review board in Akron for years, she said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to talk about promises anymore. I鈥檝e been made promises, and I now am moving toward solution building, and I see this as a solution for our community,鈥� Hill said.
Another one of Hill鈥檚 and Greene鈥檚 concerns is that the mayor鈥檚 ordinance still gives the mayor significant influence over the board, because he would select 6 of the 11 members.
The charter amendment would create a 9-member review board with only three picks from the mayor.
The charter amendment is more citizen-oriented, Hill said, because more than 7,000 signed a petition in support of it.
鈥淲hat the mayor is doing is the mayor鈥檚 voice. It鈥檚 not the voice of the people, and that鈥檚 the difference,鈥� Hill said.
Mayor Horrigan says he respects and supports the people who gathered signatures for the charter amendment, but he has concerns about the proposal.
He and several members of his staff that worked on the proposal brought forth concerns that the charter amendment could conflict with the city鈥檚 contract with the police union.
Hill pointed out that provisions in the charter amendment state that they are 鈥渟ubject to the restrictions of federal and state law,鈥� and if any provisions are found to conflict with the collective bargaining agreement, they would not be permitted.
