Akron police oversight board seeks more independence with own legal counsel

The Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board took another step this week to increase its independence by seeking its own legal council.

During Wednesday night's meeting, board member Bob Gippin put forth a motion to begin having formal discussions with the city administration about securing independent legal counsel for the board and police auditor.

The motion came, Gippin said, in light of some of the issues created by Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell's findings in a use of force incident involving Akron Police Officer Anthony Shoemaker, which contradict the findings of the department.

The motion passed unanimously, minus board member Beverly Richards who was absent from the meeting.

Gippin said that relying on the city law department, which provides legal advice to the police department and the administration represents, to him, a conflict of interest.

Board member Tristan Reed announces resignation

In other business, Tristan Reed said that she was resigning from the board, effective following the body's May 29 meeting, because she's moving out of the areaa.

She said her departure is "bitter sweet" but the best decision for her family, calling her time on the board "my greatest honor."

"My purpose in life has always been to help people," said Reed, "and to be able to do it on this platform has been very meaningful to me."

Applications for deputy auditor to open Friday

Vice Chair Donzella Anuszkiewicz also put forward a motion to approve issuing a job description for the position of deputy auditor. The motion passed unanimously.

Finnell said that he'd been speaking with Akron's Human Resources department, and that the job will "most likely" be posted and open for applications by Friday "at the latest." After the job is posted, it will be open for three weeks, he said.

Board debates changing meeting schedule

Board Chair Kemp Boyd brought forth a motion to change the board's meeting schedule from every other Wednesday to once every month on the first Wednesday of the month.

The board members expressed mixed opinions over the motion, with some voicing their support while others were resistant to the idea.

After some discussion, Kemp moved to table the motion because Richards was absent. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion before adjourning.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police oversight board seeks more independence with own legal counsel