Akron NAACP expresses ‘deep concerns’ after confrontation between teen, school resource officer

AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – The Akron Chapter of the NAACP has issued a statement expressing “deep concerns regarding the use of force by Akron police officers.”

It follows an incident last week in which a 16-year-old student at Firestone Community Learning Center was punched in the head by a school resource officer after bypassing a required metal detector.

“While we understand the need for safety, we believe that the current model is insufficient and poses risks to students, particularly those from marginalized communities. Specifically, Akron police officers are not adequately trained in critical areas such as de-escalation, social-emotional learning (SEL), trauma-informed practices, restorative justice and child development. These skills are essential for creating an educational environment that is just, equitable and conducive to student growth,” the organization said in its statement.

Dr. Lathardus Goggins II, the chapter’s education chairman and second vice president, told FOX 8 the organization would like to see better training and policies particularly geared toward the specialized work of interacting with young people.

“It just seems that instead of de-escalating, it escalated into something that was unnecessary,” said Goggins. “Our expectation, our concern is having officers in the school who are appropriately trained to deal with the immaturity of a teenager.”

In a report released by the Akron Police Department, the school resource officer involved described a futile repeated effort to convince the student to properly go through the metal detector.

“His insistence to get into the school without properly clearing the detector created further concern for me as to what he may be hiding,” wrote the officer.

After multiple failed attempts, the officer decided to arrest and detain the student at which point the confrontation escalated.

“After about 25 seconds of fighting with (the student), I threw three punches towards the side of (the student’s) head with my right hand and with a closed fist. The punches were thrown so that we could gain physical control of (the student),” the officer wrote.

It was eventually determined that the student did not have a weapon but he did have a cell phone with him which is against school policy.

“Them wanting to make sure that the young man was not carrying was not the issue, the issue becomes the engagement,” said Goggins. “If he’s asked to walk through the thing ten times then he walks through the thing ten times, and if he refuses, yes, then detain him fine, but two police officers particularly trained should be able to do that without punching him in the head, particularly when he hasn’t thrown a punch.”

On Monday, deputy police chief David Laughlin explained that the department currently has officers completing specialized training called ICAT, which helps them become better able to de-escalate scenarios where individuals are not armed.

Police chief Brian Harding has also previously committed to visiting with and listening to organizations and community leaders to understand their concerns.

But the NAACP believes that policing in schools cannot be the same as policing in the community at large.

“Having someone who is skilled at cognitive behavioral strategies seems like would be wise,” said Goggins.

The officer involved in the Firestone incident has been removed from any school assignment.

The city says an internal review is underway to assess his actions in line with the department’s use of force policy.

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, meanwhile, is pushing for a review and revision of the departments policies, one in which he expects to have community dialogue and input.

As a part of that community input, the NAACP wants there to be meaningful dialogue with young people.

“Trusting that the students’ perspective is honest and worth listening to and makes a difference in the type of decisions that are being made,” said Goggins.

“Safety isn’t just the absence of violence, safety isn’t just about how do you remove the harm. Safety is a deliberate act, a deliberate choice towards the affirming, the nurturing, the growth and creating environments in which there are meaningful relationships and in those environments, there’s safety and the benefit is in those environments you tend to have a reduction in violence,” he added.

Goggins is reviewing state law involving the training and expectations of school resource officers in which he says there needs to be a very clear “social contract” between the community and the police department regarding the expectations of the officers who work in their schools.

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