AKRON, Ohio — During a Monday afternoon news conference, the executive director of The Freedom BLOC (Black Led Organizing Collaborative) called for Akron's Police Chief Brian Harding to be fired.
Ray Greene made the statements after Harding rejected the findings by the city's independent police auditor surrounding a use of force case in which a woman was body-slammed by Officer Thomas Shoemaker last January. The incident was captured by body-worn cameras.
"We are demanding the immediate termination of Police Chief Brian Harding. His inability to hold his officers and supervisors accountable is a glaring flaw in a broken system," Greene said.
The woman, Dierra Fields, was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest, but ultimately, she was found not guilty by a jury in June.
The incident happened during a chaotic family argument inside an Akron home in the Kenmore neighborhood.
Fields attended the news conference, but her attorney, Imokhai Okolo, said Fields wouldn't be making any statements. The attorney said he plans to pursue a federal civil rights lawsuit against the police department and the officer.
Okolo also believes Harding should be fired.
"This police chief, Brian Harding, decided to carry on this ugly tradition of justifying the actions of his department regardless of the truth," Okolo said.
The auditor, Anthony Finnell, said the actions by the officer were "not objectively reasonable," and he recommended disciplinary action be taken against Shoemaker.
"I believe that the officer used excessive force in taking her to the ground by body-slamming her," Finnell told News 5 during an interview over Zoom.
In a response to the police auditor's findings, Harding said he agreed with the department's initial internal investigation that found Shoemaker was justified.
"Officer Shoemaker stated that when he placed a handcuff on Ms. Field's left wrist, she pulled her right hand away and turned toward him. In the past, other people have performed a similar move and and then attempted to assault him or flee," Harding wrote.
The case was the first test of the authority of the police auditor and Citizens Police Oversight Board created by Akron voters following the 2022 deadly police-involved shooting of Jayland Walker.
"These recommendations have been ignored. Mayor Malik and Chief Harding have turned a deaf ear to the cries of the community," Greene said.
Judi Hill, president of the Akron Chapter of the NCCAP, is not recommending that the chief be fired, but she's calling for a Department of Justice investigation of APD.
"What happens when a city— when systemic changes occur— it's through that pattern and practice investigation when the Department of Justice comes in. That's what I want to see," Hill said.
Finnell said he did his job by making recommendations and sees the process as progress, even if the chief didn't agree with his suggestions.
"It's not a failure. It's creating space for the community to have some input now," Finnell said.
However, Okolo views the decision not to discipline the officer as a "slap in the face" to Akron residents.
"This sends a message to every police officer in this department if they can physically assault black women in the city and nothing will happen," Okolo said.
A request by News 5 to interview Harding on Monday was declined. He's expected to attend a news conference on Wednesday, during which crime statistics will be discussed. It's not clear if he plans to respond to the calls for him to lose his job.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik released a statement that showed support for Harding:
“I want to be very clear – I am confident in Chief Harding’s judgment and ability to lead our police department. I understand that there are concerns about my administration’s response to the auditor’s review of the use of force incident involving Ms. Fields. The purpose of Issue 10 was to create a meaningful, substantive dialogue where the auditor could offer a professional, independent viewpoint about police use of force, citizen complaints, and more. The law does not insist that the auditor’s office and the police chief always see these difficult issues the same way – and both of these officials owe us their best judgment, not always blanket agreement.
We are at the start of this process, six months in. Mr. Finnell’s office has submitted six reports to us – we have replied to three and are working diligently on responses to the other three. We have accepted one of the auditor’s most important recommendations, to review our city’s use of force policy, the underlying document that guides when and how our police use force – with meaningful public input.
This issue touches upon basic needs for our community – how we create safety, and how we ensure dignity and respect in difficult circumstances. Our administration is committed to working on these issues head on and I plan to share more thoughts later this week.”
