A majority of Akron voters disagree with the recent grand jury decision not to indict the eight police officers who fatally shot Jayland Walker last year, according to results of a new poll released Monday.
In the post-primary election survey of 500 registered Akron voters, 60% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the grand jury decision.
Voters who supported Councilman Shammas Malik, who won the May primary election to become Akron's next presumptive mayor, were the most upset with the outcome, the most likely to say they're very familiar with the evidence in the case and the least likely to approve of the protests that followed.
A third of respondents want "major" police reform and about a quarter want "total top-to-bottom" reform.
Only 22% of voters prefer more community support of police to any level of reform.
And the reforms measured in the survey speak directly to the circumstances surrounding Walker's death.
Akron voters want police to stop chasing non-violent offenders
Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, initially led a single Akron police cruiser on a chase that began with an attempted traffic stop for a broken taillight — issues that typically result in nothing more than a ticket.
Walker fled the stop and fired a round from his vehicle, prompting a "signal 21, shots fired" call on the radio that drew dozens of officers to the chase, which ended on foot with 46 of their 94 rounds hitting Walker.
Protesters have demanded an end to police chases. Some mayoral candidates and members of council agree. And so do 67% of voters in the survey who say police should not chase cars except when a violent crime has been committed.
The chase that ended with Walker's death began before he fired a round from his driver's side window.
Under the Akron Police Department’s Vehicle Pursuit Procedure, which was established Jan. 31, 2020, initiating a chase “must be based on the pursuing officer’s reasonable belief that the immediate danger to the officer and the public created by the pursuit is less than the immediate or potential danger to the public should the suspect remain at large.”
Akron voters overwhelmingly support de-escalation training
In a ski mask at night, Walker jumped from his rolling vehicle near Wilbeth Avenue and Main Street. Eight officers — including six with about two years on the force — opened fire as he turned toward them for a second time. Four officers unloaded their magazines.
In the survey of possible police reforms, more officer training on how to de-escalate confrontational situations got the most support at 83%.
More community policing, including police substations and foot patrols in neighborhoods, got 61% support. Sending social workers on some police calls, or what candidate Malik has advocated as the co-responder model on council and the campaign trail, got 54% support.
Public safety concerns continue to unite
Safety is the foundation for all other success, Malik has said on the campaign trail.
Akronites appear to agree, with 54% citing public safety and crime as their top issue. The issue was also No. 1 in two previous surveys conducted during the election.
Public safety and crime are top concerns for 51% of Malik's supporters and just 39% of people who say they voted for Marco Sommerville, whose supporters expressed greater concern for economic development issues.
Protests, police response divide community
As recently as two weeks ago, Malik joined protesters who are still calling for justice after the state investigation and grand jury decision. The Walker family and their attorneys, who could still file a civil lawsuit, are demanding that the state release transcripts that would show what evidence was presented to the grand jury, and how it was presented.
Protests following the secret vote by the grand jury have divided the community.
About 45% of Malik voters, compared to 50% of all primary voters, approve of the political protests aimed at the city and the police department — “because [Walker and his family] deserved justice and protesting is letting them know we are not satisfied and need the city to do better,” as one respondent said.
About 23% of all voters overall, including a nearly identical portion of Malik supporters, disapproved of the protests, most often arguing that they lead to more violence.
The only voters more upset with the grand jury decision than Malik’s camp were registered voters who didn’t cast a ballot in the May primary. And 15% of voters said they or someone they know has protested the decision, which would equate to more than 18,000 people based on the city's 120,329 registered voters.
Voters are even more divided on whether police have responded appropriately to recent protests. Several arrested last summer during downtown protests that broke a city-issues curfew have since had their charges dropped or been found not guilty in court.
In a more recent protest on Copley Road, police deployed tear gas and pepper spray after individuals threw objects at officers, according to camera footage provided by the Akron Police Department.
Views on whether police have responded appropriately are almost evenly divided into thirds between voters who approve, disapprove or have no opinion.
About the poll
The Akron Decides Post-Election Survey of 500 voters, conducted by the Center for Marketing and Opinion Research, was commissioned by the Akron Press Club, Bliss Institute at the University of Akron, Akron NAACP, Ohio Debate Commission and Akron Beacon Journal.
The poll had a margin of error of 4.4%.
Registered voters were surveyed May 4 through May 17 online and over the phone, including landlines and cellphones.
Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.
