Akron police can no longer chase vehicles for equipment violations. What you need to know

Akron police can no longer chase vehicles solely for equipment violations like having no taillights or cracked windows.

Acting Police Chief Brian Harding and Capt. Michael Miller presented the new policy changes to the Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board Wednesday evening and answered questions from the board.

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"We embrace this change," Miller said. "It's a benefit to everyone, including our citizens and our police officers."

The policy change went into effect in mid-April and replaced the previous pursuit policy enacted in 2020. It follows calls for reform after the officer-involved fatal shooting of Jayland Walker in 2022. A police chase ensued after Walker fled a traffic stop for a burnt-out taillight.

What is the new Akron pursuit policy?

Officers can no longer pursue vehicles when the only offense is an equipment violation, which includes broken taillights, missing side mirrors and cracked windshields, Miller said.

For a chase to ensue, an officer must identify an offense unrelated to an equipment violation.

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That secondary offense could be visually or digitally observed, Miller explained. For example, he said, a chase could ensue if a vehicle has an equipment violation and is driving erratically or if the vehicle's registered owner has an active arrest warrant.

If a chase does begin, the driving officer must check if the pursuit is necessary by talking to a supervisor. Harding said roughly half of police chases are quickly canceled by an officer at the scene or a supervising officer.

Police can still begin chases over traffic violations at their discretion. They need to consider things like the seriousness of the original offense, road conditions, the location of the offense and population density before initiating a chase, according to the policy.

Akron police officers can still pull vehicles over for equipment violations

This provision does not extend to pulling vehicles over. Miller said police officers can pull over vehicles with equipment violations, but they cannot initiate a chase for that reason.

Using an example at the meeting, Miller said if an officer pulls over a vehicle for an equipment violation and that vehicle suddenly drives away, that officer is not allowed to initiate a chase.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police can no longer chase vehicles for equipment violations. What you need to know