AKRON, OH — It’s been over two weeks since an Akron police officer shot and killed 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker.
The department said they can’t answer many questions about the circumstances of the shooting until a formal investigation is complete, but body camera footage of the incident has been publicly released, and it shows officers waiting more than eight minutes to approach Tucker and offer medical help. That delay is prompting concern from many, including Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.
“The amount of time that expired between the shooting and the initiation of physical aid to Jazmir is deeply troubling to me,” Malik said in a press conference following the incident.
While the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to be free from excessive force and to receive medical care while incarcerated, there is no federal standard that requires police officers to render medical aid after shooting someone. In fact, there isn’t a national requirement for police officers to be trained in first aid at all.
Akron Police veteran Tim Dimoff said in Ohio, all officers receive some first aid training, as required by the state’s peace officer training academy, but each department has its own policy on when and how to provide medical attention.
“The basic guidelines, not only for Akron, but other police departments in general, is that they should administer first aid,” Dimoff said. “Where the debate is, is how fast and can you administer first aid?”
The Akron Police Department’s use of force policy, which is going under review by the city, suggests they should provide medical attention to those who are shot by an officer when possible, but Dimoff said there is a lot to consider in those moments.
“The general public is under the impression that administering first aid is going to happen rapidly or immediately,” Dimoff said. “And that’s not always necessarily true. Because what is the officer perceiving? Does that officer still perceive that there’s a danger there to himself, to other officers, or to the general public?”
Lewis Katz, a retired criminal law professor at Case Western Reserve University, said it’s important to consider the perspective of both the officers involved and the victims of police shootings, especially when they result in a death. He said he hears often that officers have the right to go home to their families at the end of the night.
“And I agree with that completely, but so do young Black kids on the street,” Katz said. “They have the right to go home alive at the end of the evening.”
Katz understands the stressful circumstances officers are under when escalating to use of deadly force, but said it’s also important to hold them accountable.
“I think that especially when an officer commits a shooting, we have the right as citizens to expect them to act immediately to render assistance,” Katz said.
While the investigation into Tucker’s shooting plays out, Malik said training will take place immediately for all officers about rendering aid.
“I want to be clear that any unreasonable delay by police officers in rendering aid is unacceptable and has no place in Akron,” Malik said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating this shooting, and Dimoff says it could take three to six months before it’s complete.