AKRON, Ohio — Following a status hearing on Tuesday, the city of Akron has agreed to a settlement with 22 of the 24 plaintiffs who filed a federal lawsuit after being arrested during protests in early July 2022 following the killing of Jayland Walker.
3News Investigates has learned that the 22 plaintiffs will receive $747,000, resolving their complaint against the city of Akron and its police department. The two remaining plaintiffs are continuing to litigate with the University of Akron Police Department.
The suit, filed in June of 2023 against the City of Akron, then-Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron police officers, alleged they "violated the constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrators protesting the 2022 Akron police shooting of young Jayland Walker."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 24 plaintiffs, including national activists Bianca Austin, aunt of Breonna Taylor; Michael Harris; Jacob Blake Sr., father of Jacob Blake, Jr.; and Cortez Rice.
Civil rights law firm Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein filed the complaint saying that "between July 3 and 7, 2022, Akron police officers subjected peaceful demonstrators and bystanders to baseless mass arrests and unnecessary violence that included beatings and the use of teargas and pepper spray. The city then brought charges against protesters and put them through nearly a year of criminal litigation until all charges were dropped or acquitted."
In announcing the details of the settlement Tuesday evening, Elizabeth Bonham, the attorney for the plaintiffs said that the lawsuit was not about money, rather to precipitate improvements in policing.
"When you see a settlement like this, what you see is the taxpayers bearing responsibility for bad policing, for harassment," said Bonham.
"My hope is that this drives the city and all our communities and all of our residents and taxpayers to understand that this is not what we want to see. This is not what we want [police to] act like. We should be protecting free speech," she said.
Mayor Shammas Malik confirmed to 3News Monday that the city agreed to settle the lawsuit.
"After mediation, the City of Akron Law Department recommended that this case be settled based on the potential cost associated with continuing to litigate it," Malik said in a statement. "This decision was made with the fiscal responsibility of our taxpayers’ hard-earned money in mind, and we take that duty very seriously."
The charges against protestors stemmed from demonstrations that happened following the release of bodycam footage in July 2022, after eight Akron police officers shot and killed 25-year-old Walker.
In April of 2023, a grand jury in Summit County issued a "no bill" decision, declining to charge the eight officers for Walker's fatal shooting. The decision touched off more demonstrations throughout the city of Akron.
More recently, the Akron Police Department completed its internal investigation into the Walker shooting last November, finding that the officers' use of deadly force "was objectively reasonable" and the officers complied with the department's use of force policy.
The Walker family has also filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Akron, the eight officers involved, Horrigan, and former police chief Steve Mylett, seeking "at least $45 million in damages, $1 million for each bullet that struck Jayland Walker."
Previous Reporting:
- 3News Investigates: City of Akron reaches settlement in lawsuit following July 2022 Jayland Walker protest arrests
- Akron police release results of Jayland Walker internal investigation; finds use of force 'objectively reasonable' by officers
- Lawsuit filed against City of Akron following July 2022 Jayland Walker protest arrests