A coalition of community groups is hoping for sweeping changes to a review — instigated by a civil rights lawsuit — of how the Akron Police Department polices protests.
A week before the deadline to provide feedback to the city on a consultant’s draft policy, groups like The Freedom Bloc, Akron NAACP, Indivisible Akron and others are calling for stronger First Amendment protections and the closure of what it views as “gaping loopholes” that could undermine the goal of the lawsuit settlement.
The coalition of eight groups, led by Fran Wilson, who was involved in the lawsuit and later won the primary for the Ward 1 Akron City Council seat, wrote to Akron Mayor Shammas Malik on Friday “that what has been drafted simply does not measure up to the desperate need for accountability and transparency in police activities at protests and assemblies.” The city, led by Malik, is tasked with finalizing the policy…