Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan announced a proposal for the creation of a citizen oversight board.
- The board will review local policing, policy and procedures
- It will be made of 11 Akron residents
- The city’s goal is to get the initiative on the Nov. 2023 ballot
The mayor said the goal of the board would be to review local policing, policies and procedures of the Akron Police Department and to act in an advisory capacity to the city government in connection with citizen oversight of APD.
“It will make a number of recommendations around citizens’ complaints,” Horrigan said. “The whole goal is to build that trust in the community and build that accountability part.”
Horrigan said the citizen oversight board was a “strong recommendation” of the Racial Equity and Social Justice task force that began its work in Nov. 2020.
“A lot of our staff has been working a number of hours and looking at other models across the country,” Horrigan said. “Some that work and some that have run into some challenges. How best to situate or craft a citizens review panel or citizens oversight board?”
While the city said their oversight board has been in the works since before Jayland Walker’s death in late June of this year, his shooting is what local activist groups say sparked them to gather signatures to get a citizens review board on the November ballet for this year.
“I think it is a little soon and I think there are some things in there that are a little problematic when it comes to the collective bargaining agreement,” he said. “So this ordinance does not do that and we will present that to city council on Sept. 12.”
The board would have 11 members appointed by the mayor with consent of the council.
He said the board will comprise at least one resident from each ward in the city. It will include an attorney, a mental health professional and someone with an organization affiliated with racial equity and social justice, among others.
“Get someone who has got maybe a law enforcement background, get someone who has a mental health background all of those different things,” he said.
Within their first year, board members will need to complete Akron Police Department’s citizen academy or complete 40 hours of ride-alongs with the police
“So we want to make sure there is a trust factor there too,” the Mayor added. “There is work to do, no doubt. I think this helps us get along the way, or move forward.”
Horrigan said the goal is to get his proposed citizen oversight board on the Nov. 2023 ballot.
