Akron settles lawsuit over Jayland Walker protest arrests

The City of Akron has reached an agreement with the Akron Bail Fund after a federal lawsuit was filed last summer.

The nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit against the City of Akron, former Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Akron Police officers on behalf of the numerous people arrested during protests that followed Jayland Walker’s death in 2022.

RELATED: Lawsuit filed against Akron, police for 2022 Jayland Walker protest arrests

Mayor Shammas Malik said the following in the City of Akron's statement:

“My administration has previously committed to reviewing police practices and creating a new centralized crowd control policy,” said Mayor Malik. “This move is part of a larger commitment to strengthen our procedures to build trust with our community. My administration and the Akron Police Department remain committed to these efforts, and we aim to model Akron’s new policy off of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) crowd control policy which is widely regarded as best practice nationwide.”

Malik stated there will be public outreach to orchestrate community forums before a draft of policy language is made.

Once the policy language has been drafted and proposed, the public will have a public comment period for 60 days, the city said. An expert will be retained by the city to consult in the policy drafting process.

The settlement was initially proposed in January.

In June, a local law firm filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Akron, Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Akron Police officers on behalf of the numerous people arrested during protests that followed Jayland Walker’s death last summer.

City of Akron to settle lawsuit from protestors for arrests at Jayland Walker protests

RELATED: City of Akron to settle lawsuit from protestors for arrests at Jayland Walker protests

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