Akron Police Department

Mayor Shammas Malik swore in 29 new police officers and two fire department arson investigators Friday upon their graduation from the Akron Police Academy. The graduating class's training had an emphasis on community engagement, according to police officials.

Akron announced Friday it's accepting applications for people interested in joining the police department. The number of uniformed officers is below what was budgeted by the city.

The move to hire the university's Department of Criminal Justice Studies comes after Akron City Council rejected Mayor Shammas Malik's plan to hire a national consulting firm last month, citing the $640,000 price tag.

Akron launched the mental health co-responder model SCOUT in March 2024. The team handles mental health calls that otherwise would have gone to police or firefighters.

As Akron leaders consider a proposal to hire an outside consulting team to review the city's use-of-force policy, residents expressed their thoughts about department procedures.

Mayor Shammas Malik has proposed spending $768,000 to hire a national consultant team led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Akron community members gathered Sunday to remember Jazmir Tucker, the teenager shot and killed by an Akron police officer on Thanksgiving.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation into the police-involved shooting of a 15-year-old in the city's Sherbondy Hill neighborhood Thursday night.

Akron police auditor Anthony Finnell has released the findings of a use-of-force investigation involving Officer Ryan Westlake. He was fired May 6 for ramming a juvenile suspect into his police car while arresting her. Finnell also said it appears supervising officers may have tried to downplay the incident.

The officer, Ryan Westlake, was nearly fired in 2021 after three incidents.