Akron Bail Fund Reaches Settlement with City of Akron

Settlement includes policy reform to protect future protesters

Background

After the June 27, 2022 police killing of Jayland Walker and the subsequent 2023 grand jury decision to not indict eight Akron police officers in Jayland’s death, protesters took to the streets of Akron demanding justice. Akron police and other law enforcement agencies repeatedly attacked community members, subjecting them to beatings, tear gas, and pepper spray. 

Since Jayland’s death, the local nonprofit organization Akron Bail Fund has worked tirelessly to support Justice for Jayland protesters as they navigate the legal system. Their work addresses the racial and financial disparities in the criminal justice system, most notably the innately flawed cash bail system. 

Approach & Resolution

FG+G represented the Akron Bail Fund to secure much-needed changes that will protect demonstrators in Akron moving forward. On April 21, 2023, we secured a temporary restraining order against the City of Akron, prohibiting Akron police from using excessive force on peaceful protesters. 

In 2024, the Akron Bail Fund reached a settlement with the City to reform how Akron police treat protesters. The City agreed to retain an expert and conduct a democratic process to craft new policies governing police conduct at demonstrations. After a public input process, the City must implement new policies that limit police use of force, ban police from punishing free speech, require police to record their own activities, and prohibit police from cooperating with other jurisdictions as a way to avoid accountability. The ban on excessive force will continue to be operative until the City’s new policies are in place by April 2025.

“We hope that with this order, unnecessary violence against demonstrators will stop. The City should be ensuring that protected demonstrators can safely get their message heard, not punishing them for exercising their rights. This is a major victory for the Bail Fund and other demonstrators.”
— Elizabeth Bonham, FG+G Attorney
 
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