An Akron police officer who shot a teenager with a toy gun was firing because of prior use of force

An Akron police officer who shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who was holding a fake gun last month has been fired, the department said Monday, just hours after the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office announced an indictment was dropped against the teenager.

The department said Officer Ryan Westlake was fired for two previous use-of-force incidents and his firing was unrelated to the April 1 shooting of the teenager, which is still under investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Incident 1
The first of the two incidents occurred on December 31, 2023. Westlake was charged on April 9 with disorderly conduct toward an Akron police officer and violating the department’s use of force policy. Department records from that incident indicate that Westlake held his rifle to the back of the head and neck of an arrested suspect and then pulled his hair to turn his head. Records also indicate that Westlake put his boot on the suspect’s neck.

Incident 2
The second incident occurred on March 1 and he was hit with the same allegations. In that incident, records show Westlake fell to the ground while arresting a woman. An initial review of the incident by an investigating supervisor determined that the officer did not violate department policy in making the arrest; However, the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability later conducted a separate review and found that he had violated the department’s rules and regulations.

What happens next
Westlake will have the opportunity to appeal his termination through the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7 and his collective bargaining agreement with the mayor’s office, the department said. If the mayor chooses to uphold Westlake’s termination, the FOP itself could appeal.

The FOP released the following statement regarding his termination:

“The Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge 7 is disappointed with the Akron City Council and Akron Police Department’s decision to fire Officer Westlake. This
was another example of how politics influences policing. It’s also disappointing that Officer Westlake is being judged by how something looks on a video, rather than the laws that govern its use
of violent incidents (the totality of the circumstances). FOP 7 will continue to assist and support Officer Westlake in the disciplinary process.”

Charges against the teenager were dropped
The Summit County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday that it has asked to dismiss the case against 15-year-old Tavion Koonce-Williams, the teenager Westlake shot while holding a fake gun.

A juvenile judge granted the request and the complaint was dismissed, prosecutors said.

The complaint stemmed from an incident in which police were called to the area of ​​Brittain and Ottawa streets for a person who was carrying a weapon and pointing it at nearby homes.

Body camera footage was shown Westlake shoots the teenager Immediately after driving to the crime scene, he had it in his hand and saw that he had a weapon with him, as it later turned out.

Body camera footage shows an Akron officer shooting a teenager who had a fake gun

The boy was later charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a facsimile firearm – the charge has now been dropped.

Akron Police Department

“Pursuing charges against Mr. Koonce-Williams could undermine the independence of the BCI investigation,” said District Attorney Elliot Kolkovich. “Decisions to prosecute should only be made after a thorough review of the incident has been completed by independent investigators.”

The family called for the officer to be fired
The teen’s family and attorney held a news conference last month to express their outrage at police and call for Westlake’s firing.

The family’s attorney, Imokhai Okolo, called on police to fire officer Ryan Westlake and file charges against him and to open a Justice Department investigation into Akron police.

The family of a fake gun-wielding teenager shot and killed by Akron police is calling on the city to fire the officer

On Monday night, Okolo expressed relief at Westlake’s firing but questioned the timing.

“It is quite confusing to think that two incidents that occurred before Tavion was shot are the reason for the firing of this officer,” Okolo said.

Records show it took Akron police more than four months to file internal charges against Westlake for the December incident and nearly eight weeks to file internal charges for the March use of force.

“Do you think the Tavion shooting could have been avoided if Akron police had acted more quickly?” News 5 investigators asked Okolo.

“100 percent,” he said. “This is negligence at its finest. “If the Akron Police Department and the City of Akron had done what they had to do by firing Officer Westlake after the first incident, the second incident, the third or fourth incident, we wouldn’t be here now.”