Akron’s new police chief talks about political changes and shooting investigation

It has been a month since Akron Police Chief Brian Harding was sworn in as the police department’s top leader.

Harding recently met with Ideastream Public Media to discuss upcoming procedural changes, the ongoing investigation into a mass shooting on the city’s east side and his overall goals for the department.

Ministry will soon announce changes to the crowd control policy

Harding will soon announce changes in police response to large gatherings, such as protest demonstrations, he said.

“We are looking at additional crowd control solutions. This clarifies how we do things and why we do them,” Harding said.

The updated policy is expected to coincide with the city’s settlement with the Akron Bail Fund on behalf of protesters. Last year, the organization sued the city and police over the use of chemical irritants during a protest on Copley Road.

The settlement is expected to be finalized this week, according to court documents. Harding declined to say when the policy change will be announced or what it will entail.

He added that the department’s use of force policy may also need to be adjusted as part of the annual evaluation of its procedures.

Investigation into the shooting in East Akron

Within a week of Harding being officially sworn in as chief, tragedy struck in East Akron, he said. An unknown gunman or gunmen opened fire on a well-attended birthday party shortly after midnight on June 2, killing one person and injuring 27 others.

“The recent mass shooting is not something you would enjoy as a police chief or anyone else, especially as a police chief,” Harding said. “This has been a difficult time for our community.”

The shooting remains under investigation and a suspect has not yet been identified, although police used license plate reading cameras and footage from doorbell cameras.

About two years ago, police installed flock cameras throughout the city. The cameras read and store license plates and other identification data. Officers can then enter their information about a suspect vehicle into a database and find out where cars with that description have recently driven.

While the city’s cameras have helped solve many cases of car thefts and missing persons, they have not stopped the shootings, Harding said.

“I was hoping (the cameras) would be more useful,” Harding said. “I mean, in a perfect world, you’d get a great clue out of it that you could use for that. So it was helpful, but … there’s no solution in the case because the flock cameras are there.”

Investigators are making “progress” in the investigation and it remains a top priority for the department, he added.

General objectives for the department

Harding’s priorities are expanding community policing, increasing recruitment and retention, and reducing gun violence, he said.

The police chief recruitment process earlier this year caused some controversy in the community. Mayor Shammas Malik decided to consider only internal candidates because, in his opinion, a state law allows police chiefs to be selected only through internal promotions.

Some members of the black community have raised concerns about the lack of diversity in the police department, particularly at the leadership levels, as agency data shows 11% of the department’s leaders are black.

Harding hopes to eventually promote four deputy police chiefs, he said. In addition, the city is working on a charter change that could allow outside hires of the police chief and deputy police chiefs.

“I think it makes a huge difference when you have someone at that level who can really keep an eye on department priorities on a day-to-day basis. That’s kind of the goal. I think there are a couple of ways to accomplish that,” Harding said. “Currently, that would all be handled internally. The charter amendment proposals would open that up to a larger pool.”

Although the “overwhelming majority” of citizens trust the police, Harding said, there is still much work to be done when it comes to strengthening police-citizen relations, he added.

Harding wants to increase the number of “park-and-walks” events, in which an officer parks his car and walks through the community and talks to residents.

This year, the number of parks and walks has already increased compared to last year’s total, he said.

Last year, the department recorded 773 park-and-walk events; this year, the number has already reached 2,705, according to police officials.

Harding added that many people in the community are still processing the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker, which occurred nearly two years ago, on June 27, 2022.

“I think the community is still seeing the impact, the community is still healing. There’s still a lot of work to be done in that area,” Harding said. “That’s one thing that we’re aware of, that we’re conscious of, and we’re going to embrace it. So we’re going to want to continue to work in that regard.”