The city of Akron announced the termination of Officer Davon Fields in a press release issued Friday.
Fields, who was involved in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker in November 2024, was terminated after the city said it found multiple policy violations, including failing to properly provide medical aid following the shooting, and violating the department's body worn camera policy.
A Summit County grand jury previously declined to indict Fields for the shooting, issuing a no bill in October 2025.
The city also said Fields showed an inability to perform the essential duties of an Akron police officer stemming from a separate criminal allegation.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said in the statement that he had concerns over how the internal investigation was conducted.
"I... made clear that there would be a thorough and fair internal investigation into whether policies or procedures were violated, separate from the criminal process," Malik said. "Upon review, the draft internal investigation raised serious concerns with its analysis of the incident and conclusions unsupported by the weight of the evidence. Therefore, I could not rely on the draft internal investigation to resolve the matter."
Malik said in a 2024 statement that he questioned why officers did not turn on their body cameras ahead of the shooting.
"The two officers who initially responded did not activate their body cameras upon exiting their vehicle. At some point, the cameras were automatically activated due to the presence of a nearby cruiser with activated lights, and once activated, the cameras can automatically store 30 seconds of video without audio — so we have some video, without audio, of the shooting itself," he said in a statement. "So my initial questions were why the cameras were not activated by the officers and whether this violated the body worn camera policy. This will be reviewed in our internal investigation."
Body cam footage from the incident started with the officers running toward Tucker with weapons drawn. Fields fired at him with an AR-15 style rifle. Tucker was not seen in the video until he was handcuffed. Police later found a handgun in Tucker's zipped coat pocket. The autopsy report showed Tucker was fatally shot two times in the back and was also shot in the arm.
Malik also questioned the use of rifles in the altercation, as well as the amount of time between the shooting and the administration of first aid.
Fields told investigators that training and previous experience informed his decision to wait to approach Tucker for aid until ballistic shields arrived with other officers, due to concerns that Tucker could have been setting a trap to shoot or fight officers when they got closer.
Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan announced changes to the Akron Police Department's internal review process for incidents involving use of force.
"The Akron Police Department has already begun to implement the Critical Decision-Making Model, a nationally recognized operational model and best practice in policing," Morgan said in Friday's statement. "Through the remainder of 2026, we will continue implementing this framework for conducting use of force investigations by the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability."
He added that the purpose of adopting the framework is to promote consistent, impartial and objective results. He also announced the creation of a Critical Incident Review Board, comprised of a cross section of the police department to conduct reviews of critical incidents and identify opportunities to improve policing, training, equipment and supervision.
Tucker was shot on Thanksgiving night in 2024. Fields and one other officer were working on a report from a previous call in their cruiser when they heard gunshots. They got out to investigate when they encountered a person with a loaded firearm, according to an initial report. Fields and Officer Steven Loar were placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
The Akron FOP Lodge 7 police union said in a statement issued Friday that it intends to fight Fields' termination.
"We will pursue every avenue available to us to defend our member. We will also be establishing a GoFundMe or similar support account for Officer Fields, along with exploring additional avenues for donations and assistance," union president Brian Lucey wrote in the statement, adding that he believes Fields is being used as a "political scapegoat."
In a separate release, the city of Akron announced a tentative settlement of $4,750,000 concerning Tucker's death. Tucker's family filed a lawsuit against the city of Akron last year.
