Woman thrown to ground by Akron police officer found not guilty

Dierra Fields was thrown to the ground by Akron police Officer Thomas Shoemaker when he was called to a home in Kenmore for a domestic incident.
The Akron police initially charged her with resisting arrest and later with obstruction of justice.
At trial, Fields’ attorney Imokhai Okolo argued that Shoemaker’s actions were excessive and unnecessary.

Dierra Fields cried as she hugged her family members early Thursday night after a jury found her not guilty of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.

“It feels like I already have my life back,” Fields said after the trial, wiping tears from her eyes.

These charges were brought against her after an Akron police officer threw her to the ground during a family dispute on January 11.

The decision was made after a full day of negotiations and about two hours of deliberations.

Independent auditor:Akron police used unjustified force during argument and knocked woman to the ground

The Beacon Journal had not released Fields’ name in previous reports on the case because she is charged with a minor offense, but through her attorney, she has given her consent to be named.

For her lawyer Imokhai Okolo, the trial was always about her innocence, but he also said it was about standing up against injustice.

“Without struggle, there is no progress,” Okolo said. “I thank Dierra for taking on this struggle.”

The Akron Police Department supported Officer Thomas Shoemaker’s actions that day, arguing that his response was appropriate. The Akron Citizens’ Police Oversight Board’s independent auditor concluded that Shoemaker’s actions were unjustified.

Akron City Court Judge Jerry Larson, who is presiding over the case, had previously ruled that the auditor’s report and testimony could not be used in the trial because they were not relevant.

Footage from a worn-out body camera shows chaotic scene

When Shoemaker arrived for a domestic incident, it was “chaos,” he said. He was the only officer on the scene for about eight minutes before a second officer, Sergeant Timothy Schmigal, arrived.

Body camera footage showed Fields, her mother and her father arguing. Two other people were in the noisy house, including a teenager. After they separated, her father fell to the ground, holding his chest.

In court:Trial begins for Akron woman who was thrown to the ground by police officer

Shoemaker believed he was having a heart attack, cleared people around the father and turned him onto his side, also known as the recovery position. The father later refused treatment by emergency services.

As his body camera footage shows, Shoemaker stood there for the next few minutes, pacing back and forth, asking people to sit down while he tried to find out more about the situation.

At one point he pushed a teenager to the ground and shouted: “Sit down. If you get up again, you will be arrested.”

Did the police detain or arrest Dierra Fields?

When Schmigal arrived, he and Shoemaker concluded that Fields was the main perpetrator because she was yelling around the room and inciting the others, Okolo said, citing Schmigal’s testimony.

“He gave him the signal to arrest,” Okolo said.

Shoemaker then handcuffed her and told her she was being detained. At that point, Shoemaker testified, she was not under arrest, but when she moved her hands and turned toward him, she was under arrest.

“I don’t have to tell anyone they’re under arrest,” Shoemaker said. “If you’re handcuffed for an investigation and you break free and you’re taken down, any reasonable person would understand that you’re under arrest.”

Shoemaker explained that in domestic situations, everyone involved is detained pending an investigation. In Fields’ case, he said she was a threat to everyone in the room.

Laci Volcheck, assistant district attorney for the city of Akron, said Fields’ movement could have turned violent because part of the handcuffs was still attached to her left hand. Okolo argued there was no understanding that she was being arrested, so resisting arrest charges could not be filed.

“A reasonable person would believe that if an officer says they will not be arrested, they will not be arrested,” he said.

Intention to obstruct official business? Lawyers object

Prosecutors argued that Fields obstructed official business by repeatedly asking if she could leave the house, yelling at officers and others in the room, and using profanity.

Her behavior, Volcheck said, distracted officers from caring for a man they thought was having a heart attack.

“She sat down for a short time and then stood up again. That would be a very mild disability,” Shoemaker testified.

However, Shoemaker did not press charges for obstruction of justice on Jan. 11 because he made a “mistake,” he testified. Nearly two months later, prosecutors called him and told him she had not been charged with obstruction of justice, which is necessary for a resisting prosecution charge.

“The law requires her to do something intentionally and with the intent to obstruct justice,” Okolo said in his closing argument. “It was clearly not her intent to obstruct justice.”

The Akron Beacon Journal photographer turned away from the courtroom

Larson refused to sign a form that would have allowed the Akron Beacon Journal to take photos of the trial. He said he hoped to protect the privacy of jurors, who will not be photographed by the Akron Beacon Journal in any court proceedings, as well as the privacy of Fields, whose lawyer had consented to the use of her image.

This is not the first time restrictions have been placed on the media during proceedings in the case. Signal Akron reporter Doug Brown was listed as a witness by the prosecution.

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