AKRON, Ohio — Akron’s police chief is standing firm on his decision to not release the names of the eight officers, based on safety reasons, he says, even though names have surfaced on social media after the Ohio Attorney General’s presentation inadvertently revealed some officer names.
One legal expert thinks releasing the names could help rebuild community-police relationships by knowing more about the officers. In reviewing the investigative records released by the AG’s office, one officer fired his gun four years ago.
During AG Yost’s presentation of the Jayland Walker grand jury decision, slides of Akron police body camera footage revealed several officer names.
"Accidentally,” Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said.
Regardless, it appears the names of some of the officers who were on the scene the night Walker was killed were released by the AG’s office.
The AG’s office will not comment and Mylett will not reverse his decision, again citing threats, even right before his interview with News 5 Tuesday.
"They have a right to be safe and so does their family as you or anyone else — they didn't sign up for that,” Chief Mylett said.
Case Western Reserve University Law Professor Michael Benza says it’s not unusual on the front end to hold back names, but when it’s resolved, that’s normally not the case.
"Really what a message is a takeaway from saying we're not going to reveal their name is a clear statement by the police department that we don't trust people when our officers are out there,” Benza said.
Benza says it may create a heightened sense of fear and trepidation.
"I imagine there will be people when the blue lights go on behind them, one of the thoughts will be, 'Is this the officer that killed Jayland coming up to my window?'” Benza said.
It’s not just the names, but Benza says people want to know about the officer’s careers.
“I think it does a lot to start to heal the system and to build bridges between communities to identify who the officers are and what their records are and where are they in the department,” Benza said.
The AG investigative documents include heavily redacted personnel files of eight officers. Five of them started with Akron police in 2020.
The longest-serving of the eight was hired in 2016.
His record shows this wasn’t his first shooting on the job; he fired his gun in November 2019. The Summit County Prosecutor ruled the shooting was justified.
"There may be a legitimate threat issue that they are concerned about; there's also, I'm sure, a significant amount of doubt as to the legitimacy of their threat assessment,” Benza said.
News 5 asked Mylett if he would change his mind to calm questions of the public.
"No, to be direct with you — no. And the reason is I'm not going to confirm any name that is going to place any officer in harm's way,” Mylett said.
A civil lawsuit, expected to be filed near the anniversary of Walker’s death, could change things.
"They could be naming the officers individually; they would probably be naming the Akron Police Department,” Benza said.
One criminologist tells News 5 the chief’s concern needs to be weighed against the public right to know in terms of police accountability and transparency, along with agency policy and state law.
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