Cop shoots 15-year-old boy accused of aiming fake gun at homes, Ohio police say

A 15-year-old boy carrying a fake gun was shot by an Ohio police officer with a history of “disciplinary actions and use of force incidents,” officials said.

On April 1, a woman called 911 to report someone walking down the street pointing a gun at homes in an Akron neighborhood, according to a news release from the city’s police department.

A responding officer pulled up alongside the suspect, later identified as a 15-year-old from Akron, and asked “can I see your hands real quick,” body camera footage released April 8 shows. The officer then fired one shot at the teen seconds later, striking him in the hand, video shows.

“It’s fake!” the teen can be heard saying repeatedly in the body cam footage, referencing the fake gun on the ground, as the officer exits his vehicle aiming his weapon at the boy.

“I’m a good kid, I get A’s in school, I play football,” he can later be heard telling police officers on site who are treating his injuries.

The teen was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

McClatchy News reached out to the teen’s attorney April 9 for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The officer involved in the incident — who has worked for the Akron Police Department for nine years — was placed on paid administrative leave, the department said.

“The officer’s file includes a number of disciplinary actions and use of force incidents, one of which has been deemed unreasonable,” the city of Akron said in an April 8 news release.

He was fired, then reinstated in 2021 after officials said he violated multiple department policies, including an off-duty incident and an altercation during which he was accused of pulling a gun on his girlfriend.

City officials who shared the officer’s personnel file for transparency said they expect to have more information to release in the coming weeks.

An investigation into the incident will be conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to the Akron Police Department.

A separate internal investigation will be conducted by the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability, the department said.

Akron is about a 40-mile drive south from Cleveland.

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