Worth the wait: Why Akron should pause its police chief search | Editorial

The national search for Akron’s new police chief seemed to be well underway — until there was a surprising twist.

At the 11th hour, Mayor Shammas Malik announced his administration had discovered verbiage in state law that prohibits cities from making external hires to fill vacancies above entry-level positions for their safety forces.

Malik says a provision in Akron’s charter stating promotions should occur internally “whenever practicable” isn’t enough to trump state law.

As a result, the mayor is opting to narrow the police chief search to internal candidates.

Because the two deputy chiefs have applied, no one else can be considered for the job per the city charter.

That means there will be no diverse applicants eligible to become Akron’s next police chief.

The news prompted the Black Elected Officials of Summit County to call for a pause to the police chief search, urging the city to pursue a path that considers a more diverse pool of candidates.

We support the call to pause the search.

This is a critical time for repairing police-community relations after several tumultuous years that included the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker by officers in 2022, followed by widespread protests and calls for police reform.

Trust and transparency are crucial.

In their letter, the Black elected officials also urged the mayor to seek a second opinion from the Attorney General’s Office. The mayor’s office, however, is declining to take this step. A city spokesperson says “the AG’s office has specific parameters on when it can provide opinions, and that does not include the interpretation of our hiring authority under our charter.

“We will rely on the research and legal advice of our Law Department and outside counsel.”

Other Ohio cities have looked outside their police department ranks in recent years to find their next police chief.

Columbus, for example, hired its current police chief from Detroit in 2021. Of note, she is the city’s first Black female police chief. The national search was permitted after the city went to arbitration with the Fraternal Order of Police Capitol City Lodge No. 9 in 2017 to look for an external candidate.

Akron’s two previous mayors also hired candidates from outside the police department. "I do believe that previous administrations were acting on the best understanding they had at the time," Malik said.

A city spokesperson says the law department reviewed charter language from other Ohio cities, which have “specific language granting them clear hiring authority.” The city says it will soon announce the next steps in the charter amendment process, which will include consulting with other cities.

Perhaps an internal candidate would end up being the best choice in the end. But we don’t believe the field should be narrowed before all candidates — both internal and external — can be vetted and considered, particularly if the process excludes diverse applicants.

Malik says he doesn’t want to wait to name a chief until after November, the first time an amendment could appear before Akron voters without requiring a costly special election.

Why not wait?

After all, getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly.

This is one of the first real tests of Malik’s leadership. Is he truly dedicated to bringing the change he says he was elected to deliver to our community?

Leaders do not simply accept rules that are not good for their constituents.

They fight to change those rules.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Mayor Shammas Malik should pause police chief search | Editorial