Akron fires police officer who shot teen, cites 2 other use-of-force incidents

An Akron police officer who has faced scrutiny for shooting a teen who had a fake gun — as well as for his troubled history with the department — has been fired.

City and police leaders terminated officer Ryan Westlake Monday because of actions he took during two use-of-force incidents that they say violated police rules and procedures.

“Your actions in these instances demonstrate your continued disregard for the rules, regulations, and policies of the Akron Police Department,” police supervisors wrote in a notice of the latest disciplinary action against Westlake. "Your previous disciplines and counseling sessions have not corrected your behavior. Your actions bring the city of Akron into disrepute or ridicule and demonstrate that you are unable to safely and effectively serve as a police officer."

Westlake, who has been has been disciplined five times and was fired then reinstated in 2021, will have 10 days to request a hearing before Mayor Shammas Malik. The matter could also then go before an arbitrator.

City leaders said the recommendation to fire Westlake is unrelated to the April 1 shooting that has prompted many community leaders to call for his termination. Community leaders also have questioned why Westlake, who has been an officer for nine years, has been allowed to remain a police officer, given his troubled past.

The two incidents that city leaders say are the basis for their termination recommendation involve:

• A Dec. 31 incident in which Westlake put the muzzle of his assault rifle to the back of a man’s head while other officers handcuffed him, according to Westlake's body-worn camera video.

• A March 1 incident in which Westlake appears to swing a teen around as he attempted to get her into his cruiser, resulting in her falling to the ground against the cruiser, a surveillance video shows.

Police supervisors deemed Westlake’s use of force in the December incident to be unreasonable and disagreed on whether his actions in the March incident were justified. The first supervisors who evaluated the March incident found it to be reasonable, but internal affairs supervisors found it was not.

Brian Lucey, president of the Akron police union, couldn't be reached for comment Monday afternoon about Westlake's firing.

Westlake, 33, has already been involved in five use-of-force incidents in the first four months of this year. The department has an early warning system that kicks in when an officer has six use-of-force incidents in a year in which police supervisors are notified. The most use-of force Westlake had in prior years was seven in 2021 and eight in 2023, according to his personnel records.

Westlake has a troubled history as an officer

Westlake has been involved in more than 30 use-of-force incidents, with most of them deemed to be reasonable by his supervisors.

Mayor Dan Horrigan fired Westlake on July 20, 2021, saying he wasn’t “fit” to be an Akron officer. He pointed to two drunken and violent off-duty incidents between Westlake and his girlfriend, including one in which she accused him of punching her, holding a gun to her head and threatening to kill her and her father.

Westlake was charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing, but these charges were dropped and the case expunged after his girlfriend refused to cooperate.

Westlake was reinstated the day after he was fired and instead suspended for 71 days after a deal was struck between the police union and city leaders.

Westlake has also been disciplined for ramming a truck during a chase, operating a patrol wagon unsafely, refusing to give his name or identification number to a citizen during a call, and improperly handling drug evidence.

Shooting of teen with fake gun is still being investigated

Westlake had never been involved in a shooting before April 1, when he responded to a call about a male pointing a gun at houses, his personnel file shows.

Westlake drove up near a teen holding a gun, told him to show him his hands, then, seconds later, shot him in the hand.

The gun that Tavion Koonce-Williams, 15, was holding was fake. He was facing a misdemeanor facsimile firearms charge, but this charge was dismissed Monday in Summit County Juvenile Court, pending the outcome of the investigation into the shooting.

More: Can de-escalation training help prevent police shootings? Here's what the experts say

The shooting is being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The BCI findings then will be presented to a grand jury. The police department and the Citizen’s Police Oversight Board will then also investigate.

Imokhai Okolo, the attorney for Tavion’s family, has made several demands, including that Westlake be immediately fired.

The shooting resulted in a protest in front of City Hall and questions being raised during recent meetings, including Akron City Council and the Akron school board.

Supervisors find Westlake's actions unreasonable in December incident

Westlake had a pre-disciplinary hearing last week before city and police leaders about the use-of-force incidents in December and March.

They allowed Westlake time to respond, then met with him again Monday and told him they were terminating him.

The city provided the Beacon Journal videos and documents pertaining to these incidents Monday.

In the Dec. 31 incident, Westlake and other officers surrounded a house to arrest a 23-year-old Akron man who was wanted on several felony warrant and had been involved in a vehicle chase with Westlake the day before. The man ran out of the front door of the house, and Westlake and other officers chased him.

Westlake, who was carrying an assault rifle as he ran, deployed his Taser at the man, as did another officer. The man kept running.

Westlake saw the man hiding in bushes and alerted other officers. Another officer shot the man with his Taser and the man dropped to the ground.

“Hands behind your back!” Westlake yelled at the man who was laying on his stomach. “Hands behind your [expletive] back now!”

Westlake pressed the barrel of his assault rifle to the back of the man’s head while other officers placed handcuffs on his wrists. He then moved the rifle away. Westlake grabbed the man’s hair to move his head.

A police supervisor said he contacted the training bureau and asked if the use of a rifle in this was taught in rifle training. The supervisor was told officers “have never been taught to use a rifle in this manner,” according to a supervisor’s report.

Westlake said in his use-of-force report that he touched the man’s hair to evaluate getting a Taser wire untangled. He also said he was tired from his foot pursuit and “was in an adrenalized state.”

Police supervisors found the actions of all the officers except for Westlake to be reasonable. A supervisor said Westlake’s use of his rifle and grabbing the man's hair to be a violation of the department’s rule that says force can only be used in “circumstances specified by law, and then only when necessary to accomplish a police task successfully.”

Police supervisors disagree on reasonableness of March incident

In the March 1 incident, Westlake responded to a complaint by a convenience store owner that a customer and her friends were stealing from him.

The teenage customer denied that anything had been stolen.

While other officers searched for the teen’s friends outside the store, Westlake told the teen to turn around so he could handcuff her. She refused and told him not to touch her.

“Don’t fight be because it’s not going to go well for you,” he told the teen as he handcuffed her, then led her from the store.

Westlake told the teen to get into his cruiser. He then swung her around and she fell, landing on the ground beside the cruiser, a surveillance video showed.

“I’m reporting you, [expletive]!” the teen screamed.

He then placed her in the back of the cruiser.

The first supervisor who reviewed this incident found the use of force to be reasonable. When the video is watched at full speed, the supervisor said, it looked like Westlake threw the teen to the ground. But the supervisor said that doesn't appear to be the case when the video is viewed frame-by-frame.

“I find it reasonable to believe he lost control of the suspect after she lost her balance while he was trying to get her in his cruiser,” the supervisor said.

Supervisors in the department's internal affairs division, though, found that Westlake’s use of force wasn’t reasonable and violated the department’s use-of-force procedure and the rule that requires an officer to be responsible for the safety and protection of a person in his or her custody.

Westlake said in his use-of-force report that the teen pulled away from him and he pulled her toward the cruiser. He said her back struck the door and she fell to the pavement, landing on her backside.

“I felt it was imperative to get her in the cruiser reasonably quickly,” Westlake said.

All use-of-force incidents are investigated, police spokesman says

The Beacon Journal recently talked to police and union leaders about how the department handles use-of-force incidents.

Capt. Michael Miller, a spokesman for the police department, said all use-of force incidents are investigated by a police supervisor.

The investigations are then forwarded to Internal Affairs, which does its own review.

The investigations normally take between 30 and 60 days, Miller said.

If a use-of force incident is deemed to not be reasonable, Miller said Internal Affairs determines what rule or rules were violated and then submits this to the chief, who decides what punishment is appropriate. Miller said the chief looks at factors like whether this was the first time the officer was found to have violated this rule or rules.

Miller said it’s not uncommon for patrol officers, who are the ones responding to citizen’s calls, to have several use-of-force incidents in a year. He said the number could depend on how busy of an area the officer is assigned to patrol.

“More calls/more arrests could make a difference,” he said.

Miller said the police union is involved in the discipline process, as required by the contract.

Lucey, the FOP president, said officers may need to resort to force when someone isn’t cooperating or is having a mental health crisis.

“That’s part of our job,” he said.

Lucey said use-of-force incidents represent less than 1% of the calls that officers handle.

Miller said in a press release Monday about Westlake's firing that the department and city administration won't provide further comment but will provide "future updates to the community as appropriate."

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police officer Ryan Westlake fired for 2 use-of-force incidents