Akron reaches settlement with activists arrested at demonstrations
Akron has reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed against the city, city leaders and numerous officers by 24 people who were arrested during protests of Jayland Walker’s fatal shooting in 2022.
Among the plaintiffs were several high-profile activists, including Jacob Blake Sr., Bianca Austin and Javonna Beasley, the sister of Jaymeisha Beasley, Jayland Walker’s fiancée.
Mayor Shammas Malik said the law department recommended that the suit be settled “based on the potential cost associated with continuing to litigate it.”
“This decision was made with the fiscal responsibility of our taxpayers’ hardearned money in mind, and we take that duty very seriously,” Malik said in an emailed statement.
Elizabeth Bonham, one of the Cleveland attorneys representing the protesters, declined Monday to comment on the resolution.
The amount of the settlement hasn’t been disclosed.
The lawsuit claims the city unlawfully arrested people who were expressing themselves or just in the wrong place at the wrong time and prosecuted them in cases that dragged on for months. All 24 cases ultimately were dismissed or resulted in not-guilty verdicts by a jury or judge.
Attorneys for the city and the protesters had mediation conferences before Magistrate Judge James Grimes Jr. on Jan. 18 and 22.
After the second mediation, Grimes said in court records that a resolution had been reached. He said the parties would finalize the settlement by Feb. 2 and the first payment would be made by Feb. 23.
Walker was shot 46 times by eight Akron officers on June 27, 2022, after fleeing from police by car and then on foot. He was unarmed, though he fired a gun outside of his window while fleeing from police and the officers later said they thought he might still have a weapon. A gun was found in his car after the shooting.
After the city released body-worn camera footage of Walker’s shooting, people gathered in downtown Akron several times to protest. More than 50 people were arrested over the Fourth of July weekend, with police deploying tear gas and paper spray to disperse the crowds. Several downtown businesses were damaged and fires were started.
A special grand jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court decided April 17 against indicting the Akron officers who shot Walker. This led to additional protests, though they weren’t as large as the demonstrations last summer and didn’t result in as many arrests.
The lawsuit, filed last July in U.S. District Court in Akron, pertained to people arrested between July 3 and July 7, 2022.
The suit named the city, former Mayor Dan Horrigan, former Chief Steve Mylett, 17 police supervisors and numerous Akron officers and detectives, as well as three University of Akron officers and one Summit County Sheriff ’s deputy who assisted Akron police with responding to the protests.
The claims in the suit include excessive force, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, supervisory liability, assault and battery, abuse of process and breach of duty.
The suit sought compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, as well as injunctive relief against the city for its “unlawful policies and training for the Akron Police Department.” It didn’t seek a specific amount. Bonham said when the suit was filed that the “violation of people’s rights are just not quantifiable” and would need to be determined by a jury.