A subsequent investigation into the fatal police shooting of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker may take at least another year, according to Akron’s independent police auditor.
This week, a grand jury declined to indict Davon Fields, the police officer who fatally shot Tucker, on criminal charges. Now, the Akron Police Department’s internal affairs unit, known as the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability, or OPSA, and the city’s independent police auditor, Anthony Finnell, will conduct their own investigations into whether Fields followed department policies.
But it's possible the community won’t see Finnell’s findings for a year or more, Finnell said.
“That is what makes my part of the process extremely frustrating and extremely lengthy; because I have to wait till everyone else is done before I can review OPSA's work,” Finnell said.
Finnell can start reviewing the case files when OPSA concludes its review. While that could take as little as a few months, Finnell expects Tucker’s family to bring a civil lawsuit against the city.
According to Finnell, civil litigation could delay him from accessing unredacted case files for his review because of the city’s position on those requests.
“The law department's position is that, you know, it's still in in litigation and as such, you know, they can't release the unredacted material,” Finnell said.
In a statement, city spokesperson Stephanie Marsh cited public records law.
"For pending criminal cases, investigatory materials are covered by the confidential law enforcement investigatory record (CLEAR) exemption as related to public records,” Marsh wrote. “For pending civil cases, work product related to litigation is also exempt."
As an independent auditor, Finnell does not currently have access to the same resources and databases as OPSA, such as Evidence.com and Blue Team, he said.
Finnell can go through publicly available information released by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, but that won’t provide a complete picture, he added.
“I can't do a review with redacted videos or redacted documents,” Finnell said.
If the Tucker family sues, it could be a year or more before he can start his review, under the city's current framework, according to Finnell.
A representative for the Tucker family’s legal team announced their intent to sue following the grand jury’s decision Thursday.
“We will pursue every legal avenue possible to ensure Jazmir's family receives the justice they so deserve including filing a wrongful-death lawsuit,” Ryan Julison of The Cochran Firm wrote in a news release.
Last year, the city settled with the family of Jayland Walker, who was fatally shot by Akron police officers in 2022, for $5 million. The city gave Finnell access to unredacted files after the settlement, he said.
Finnell is still working on that review due to the sheer volume of files and hopes to eventually hire an outside team to help him, he added.
Finnell understands the Akron community's frustration over the process, he said.
“For community healing process, and for transparency and accountability, my office needs to be able to respond quickly, and that’s not going to happen. Not the way not in the way things are set up,” Finnell said.
