AKRON, Ohio — Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan announced that he was lifting the city's curfew on Wednesday after no public safety concerns arose the last two nights.
Horrigan released the following statement about his decision:
“The curfew was put in place due to safety concerns for our downtown corridor and our residents. What I want our residents and community to know, is that we aren’t arresting protestors who choose to peacefully protest. Hundreds of citizens have protested in our community for days without incident, and we support their right to do so. In fact, we will take every step to make sure they can continue to do so safely. Those who were arrested were engaged in criminal behavior. They were becoming violent with officers and disrupting the peace which the community has been urging throughout this difficult time in our city. These individuals do not represent the larger gathering of peaceful protests and we won’t let them control the narrative of our community who are voicing their concerns. I continue to urge peace in our city and ask that if you see threats or instances of violence, that you report them.”
The curfew was put into place on downtown Monday after several downtown businesses were damaged and police used tear gas to disperse those protesting over the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker.
About 50 people were arrested after midnight Monday for various charges including rioting, failure to disperse and misconduct during an emergency, Akron police said.
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