A Summit County grand jury chose not to issue any indictments in the fatal Akron police shooting of Michael Jones last summer, according to a statement Wednesday from Mayor Shammas Malik.
Two Akron officers approached Jones, a 54 year old Black man, while investigating a stolen U-Haul at a gas station in Kenmore that Jones was driving, according to an initial report following the shooting. One of the officers, Michael Novak, fired two rounds, fatally striking Jones, after he attempted to drive off with both officers partially in the U-Haul. Jones died at the scene. Officers found a loaded handgun in the vehicle after the shooting.
The grand jury made a no bill determination in the case, meaning the two officers involved, Novak and Nakoa Anderson, will not face criminal charges.
“I again wish to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Jones as they grieve his passing – I want to acknowledge that there are loved ones in our community grappling with a tragedy," Mayor Malik said in Wednesday's statement.
Body cam footage of the Aug. 17, 2024 incident shows the officers lunge at Jones after he asked them why he was being arrested. Second later, Jones appears to drive off with the officers hanging out of the vehicle door, after which Novak opened fire.
Novak and Anderson then handcuffed Jones and drug him out of the vehicle, before laying him on the ground and administering first aid.
Jones was scheduled to be evicted the month before the shooting.
Novak had been with the department for two and a half years and has been on paid administrative leave per department policy. The personnel files of both officers obtained by Ideastream Public Media showed no prior discipline for either officer.
In a press release weeks after the shooting, At Large Councilmember Eric Garrett claimed a gun was recovered from Jones after the shooting and was placed on the seat of the U-Haul to "create a narrative" about the shooting. Akron's police union, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7, issued "a vote of no confidence" in Garrett in response to the press release.
“It is not reckless to demand transparency, it is not inflammatory to seek justice, and it is not unlawful to represent the people of Akron by asking for honesty and accountability,” Garrett said in a statement responding to the FOP.
The FOP called his comments "reckless and inflammatory."
Following the grand jury decision, the Akron Police Department will conduct an investigation to see if any policies or procedures were violated, according to the mayor. The results of that investigation will then be turned over to the police chief and the city's police auditor for review.
