Akron’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board reviewed 310 use of force cases and complaints in 2025, according to the board's annual report released Thursday. However, the report also outlines the challenges the board is still facing nearly three years after its first meeting.
The board was passed by voters as a charter amendment in 2022 in response to the police fatal shooting of Jayland Walker. The board is tasked with independently reviewing citizen complaints and use of force incidents within the Akron Police Department, identifying systemic issues and issuing findings and recommendations to the mayor and city council.
In 2025, the board concurred with the findings of APD investigations 90.7% of the time. The board concurred and issued recommendations 6.2% of the time and did not concur 3.3% of the time. However, the board still shared concerns about recurring issues in the department, including training consistency, documentation practices and accountability mechanisms.
The report highlighted a need for reforms in several areas, including proportionality in use of force decision making, juvenile encounter guidance, restraint safety practices, body worn camera compliance and response to mental health crises.
Across case reviews, the board consistently identified concerns related to proportionality and necessity of escalation by police officers and the use of high risk tactics, such as head and neck strikes. The city is currently undergoing a comprehensive use of force policy review.
The board did recognize this review and other proactive steps the department took in 2025. The department continued to expand crisis intervention team membership, coordinated with mental health practitioners to provide service oriented responses and trained all officers in a de-escalation training program, the report states.
The report also notes the lack of youth specific de-escalation guidance, restraint guidance and coordination with schools and behavioral health partners.
"These cases demonstrate that youth encounters require distinct policy frameworks, not ad hoc adaptation of adult policing models," the report states.
Multiple 2025 case reviews brought up concerns about full body restraint devices, including when they should be used, duration of use, medical response and documentation, the report states. Unaddressed restraint safety issues, it said, could lead to serious injury or death.
The report notes the board faces structural challenges, including delayed response from the mayor’s office or city council to recommendations. Only seven of the board’s 39 recommendations received responses within 45 days, and nearly half of recommendations are still awaiting a response. This presents a "persistent challenge affecting the civilian oversight accountability process," the report states.
The report contends that delayed or missing responses from the city undermine transparency by not creating a public record of if the city or police department accepts or rejects recommendations, not creating a reform implementation pathway and allowing recurring issues to remain unresolved and reappear in subsequent incidents.
This is a risk to the city, as it opens the city up to litigation over known risk factors that persist without documented corrective action, the report states. It also hinders the mayor and city council from demonstrating oversight of the police department and further erodes public trust in policing.
The board also struggles with contractual limitations influencing accountability timeliness and restraints in accessing information. The board made several formal recommendations during negotiations over the latest police union contract, but none were adopted in the final contract, according to the report.
The recommendations included extending the 120 day disciplinary time limit to 365 days to allow for an APD investigation, independent police auditor review, board deliberation and response from the mayor's office.
"Retaining the 120-day limit constrains the oversight timeline and creates a risk that serious matters may expire before the oversight process is complete, particularly in complex use-of-force cases," the report states.
Other recommendations not adopted include formally acknowledging the board in the contract, limitations on arbitration in use of force and public complaint cases and restrictions on officers reviewing body cam footage before giving statements.
"The absence of broader reforms preserves the status quo and limits alignment between labor agreements and Akron’s civilian oversight framework," the report states.
These restrictions hinder the board's recommendations from becoming "timely and measurable institutional improvements," the report states.
The board had planned to conduct an independent review of the officer involved shooting death of Walker in 2025, the report states. More than $30,000 was initially allocated for these purposes, but when the board attempted to move forward with the process, members were told the funds were not available. The board will now be requesting $80,000 for independent review of three to four officer involved shootings in 2026, including the death of Walker.
Aside from the officer-involved shootings review, the board wants to move beyond individual incident review to identify recurring policy, training and supervisory issues in the next year. The board also plans to undertake a comprehensive review of the police department's policies.
