'This guy should have been removed': Akron officer who shot teen faced past discipline

Akron officers swarmed an SUV that was suspected of having fled from police in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2021.

“Put your hands up!” an officer told the male passenger. “Put your [expletive] hands up!”

“Yes sir,” the passenger said, explaining that he had on his seatbelt.

An officer disconnected the man's seatbelt, then pulled him from the vehicle.

Officer Ryan Westlake, who was on the driver’s side, fired his Taser through the car, striking the passenger in his back.

“Owwww!” the 25-year-old Akron man yelled, as officers handcuffed him while avoiding the Taser probes attached to his back.

“You alright man?” an officer asked.

“No!” he responded. “You guys tased me a minute ago — for no reason!”

Several community leaders have questioned why Westlake has kept his job, given this and other use-of-force incidents.

He also was accused of two violent off-duty incidents involving his girlfriend in late 2020 and early 2021. Westlake was fired in July 2021, then reinstated the next day and instead suspended for 71 days.

Most recently, Westlake has been under scrutiny for the April 1 shooting of a teen who had a fake gun.

Westlake was found by a police supervisor to not be justified in deploying his Taser in the 2021 incident. The Taser delivered a shock not only to the passenger, but also to the officers near him.

Phil Young, the former Akron police auditor, told the Beacon Journal last week that he raised concerns to police leaders about Westlake’s large number of use-of-force incidents in November 2021.

“This guy should have been removed — in my opinion — a long, long time ago,” Young said of Westlake. “They are giving too many chances.”

Brian Lucey, president of the Akron police union, has defended Westlake and predicted the teen’s shooting will be found to be justified. He said Westlake’s past has nothing to do with this shooting.

“Officer Westlake comes to work every day and does a good job,” Lucey said.

Based on records the Beacon Journal has received from the city and the police department, Westlake has:

• Been involved in 34 use-of-force incidents during his nine years in the police department. Police supervisors found all but one of these uses of force, which included Taser deployments, punches, and takedowns, to be reasonable.

• Received seven complaints from citizens from 2018 to 2023. He was disciplined for only one that involved him refusing to provide his name or identification number.

• Been suspended or reprimanded five times.

The 33-year-old also has been lauded by his supervisors for his excellent attendance, routinely volunteering for overtime and special assignments, and having an arrest rate that’s often the highest on his shift.

Westlake starts career in National Guard

Westlake graduated from Indian Creek High School in Wintersville, a village in Jefferson County with a population of about 3,600.

He became a military police officer with the Ohio Army National Guard in 2008. He served in Afghanistan from December 2011 to September 2012, according to information in his personnel file.

Westlake studied criminal justice at Eastern Gateway Community College and the University of Akron. He then completed the police training academy at Kent State University in 2014 and was appointed as an Akron officer that September.

Westlake wrote on his application that he wanted to “serve and protect the people of the city of Akron.” He said he hoped to become a narcotics detective or a SWAT team member.

Westlake’s evaluations highlight need for ‘better judgment’

In his evaluations, Westlake consistently received an overall rating of “standard,” which is in the middle of designations of “strong” and “weak.”

Westlake’s supervisors praised him for his excellent attendance and high arrest rate. In his 2017 evaluation, his supervisor said he initiated 227 traffic stops, the most on his shift. His supervisor, though, noted that Westlake had been counseled a few times “where better judgment was needed.”

Westlake’s supervisor in 2018 called him “one of the hardest working officers on the shift.”

“He is a young officer and can improve his decision making which would assist his proactivity,” his supervisor said.

Westlake received accolades from former Chief Jim Nice in September 2015 for how he and another officer handled a call involving someone hitting a car on Gorge Boulevard. The man said the officers who assisted him were “friendly and professional” and arrested the person responsible.

“Nice work,” Nice wrote. “The public always pays attention to how we serve. You make us proud.”

By 2020, Westlake’s evaluations continued to praise his arrest rate, while also highlighting regulations he had violated.

Westlake’s evaluation in 2020 noted that he handled 853 calls for service and made many gun and drug arrests. His supervisor noted, however, that he made a traffic stop and mistakenly thought the plates were expired and had the vehicle towed. He was counseled on this violation of the department’s tow procedure.

In Westlake’s most recent evaluation in January, his supervisor said he “works tirelessly to remove guns being possessed illegally in an effort to make the community safer,” but also noted Westlake has “room for improvement.”

His supervisor said Westlake violated the pursuit policy, was found at fault for an accident during a pursuit and lost a suspect’s property after leaving it on top of a cruiser.

Westlake is involved in numerous use-of-force incidents

Westlake has been part of numerous use-of-force incidents that happened while he was patrolling, responding to calls or making traffic stops — all but one of which were determined by the department to be justified.

The most he had in a single year was eight in 2021, followed by seven in 2023.

Westlake deployed his Taser in nine incidents, though it didn’t always work. He punched a suspect in four incidents. And, in many more, he tackled or took suspects to the ground to handcuff them.

Westlake’s only use-of-force incident that wasn’t deemed reasonable was the Taser incident in December 2021, according to his personnel records.

His supervisor said officers stopped a gray Kia that was suspected of being involved in an earlier chase, which turned out not to be true. Officers removed the driver and were working on getting the passenger out when Westlake, who was on the driver’s side, deployed his Taser, striking the passenger.

“No, no, they got him, Westlake,” a female officer said to Westlake.

The female officer told supervisors she didn’t see the passenger struggling with officers and the officers didn’t ask for help or the use of a Taser.

Westlake said in his use-of-force report that he thought the passenger was refusing to exit the vehicle and pulling away from officers.

The supervisor found that Westlake’s Taser deployment was “not objectively reasonable.”

The incident was captured on the body worn cameras of Westlake and several other officers on the scene.

Lucey, the FOP president, said this incident was reviewed during the pre-disciplinary process and was found to be reasonable. He said Westlake wasn’t disciplined.

However, city officials have been unable to find any documentation showing the finding was overturned. They also are still searching for records that show whether Westlake was disciplined.

Westlake is fired and reinstated the next day

Westlake was accused in two drunken and violent incidents involving his girlfriend in Florida in December 2020 and at his Cuyahoga Falls apartment. January 2021.

In both cases, the woman declined to press charges.

Former Mayor Dan Horrigan fired Westlake on July 20, 2021, saying he was “not fit” to be an officer. He pointed to the two incidents involving Westlake’s girlfriend and Westlake using inappropriate language during a call in March 2021.

One day later, after a deal was hashed between the FOP and city leaders, Westlake was reinstated and suspended for 71 days.

Westlake’s suspension lasted until Oct. 28, 2021.

The following month, Young said he met with former Chief Steve Mylett and Deputy Chief Jesse Leeser to discuss concerns he had about Westlake and two other officers who had been involved in numerous use-of-force incidents.

Young, who was the police auditor until last May, said the department has an early-warning system that alerts supervisors when an officer is involved in six use-of-force incidents or receives three citizen complaints in a year. He said Westlake and the two other officers he flagged had reached this threshold.

Young said, as far as he knows, nothing ever happened as a result of this meeting. He said the department could have gotten Westlake more training or assigned him to work with a more senior officer.

Westlake is disciplined for breaking the rules

Westlake was disciplined four times in 2022 for not following the department’s rules.

In May, Westlake received a two-day suspension for ramming into a suspect’s vehicle during a chase and then failing to immediately report what he had done to his supervisors.

In July, Westlake received a written reprimand for failing to operate a patrol wagon in a “safe and prudent manner.”

That December, Westlake got a one-day suspension after a citizen’s complaint was substantiated that he refused to provide his name or identification number. This was the only complaint filed against him that resulted in discipline, according to personnel records.

That month, Westlake also was suspended for 45 days for a violation of the department’s procedures for the handling of drug evidence.

Officers are required to turn in drugs that are confiscated prior to the end of their shift and to make note of any drugs they destroy. The disciplinary notice said this was Westlake’s third violation of this rule.

Teen’s shooting is being investigated

Westlake had never before been involved in a shooting until April 1, according to his personnel files.

Westlake was responding to a non-emergency call about a male pointing a gun at houses. He saw Tavion Koonce-Williams, told him to show him his hands, then, seconds later, fired a shot that struck the 15-year-old in the hand.

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.

Tavion, an East High School sophomore, was charged with facsimile firearms, a first-degree misdemeanor. He will have a hearing May 6 in Summit County Juvenile Court.

The shooting has prompted protests and comments from community leaders, including a school board member who highlighted it during a meeting on Monday.

Imokhai Okolo, Tavion’s family’s attorney, has made several demands, including that the city investigate officers with a history of violating rules and fire those who are unfit. Okolo also urged that Westlake be terminated immediately and questioned why he has been allowed to remain an officer for so long.

“It makes no sense,” Okolo said. “Why is he here?”

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 officer who shot teen has faced previous discipline issues