Crowd Management Policy Community Forum

Crowd Management Policy Community Forum Documenter name: Cameron Nelson Agency: None Date: Feb. 25, 2025 See more about this meeting at Documenters.org

Write all notes on the following page

Summary

Summarize the three most important outcomes or takeaways from your notes. Write one to three sentences per summary that share information and details from the meeting. Think about including information that answers who, what, when, where, why and how. Include links, full names, titles and facts. Imagine you are talking to your friend, neighbor, or partner. What would you tell them? The City of Akron Akron, OH held a Crowd Management Policy Community Forum at Garfield Community Learning Center, to receive feedback from the community in an attempt to gain knowledge of what could be added to the updated policy. Being involved with your local government can help residentsyou protect and better understand theiryour rights, while giving them aand give your voice andthe opportunity to produce change. Residents expressed the need to Feeling safe and respected by the Akron Police Department is a concern and goal residents currently have.

Follow-Up Questions What are you left wondering? Ask up to 3 of your own follow-up questions… Was Captain Spencer Fomby able to clearly understand what the community desired to have implemented into the policy, while processing the resident’s frustration and very emotional communication? Will the policy Captain Spencer Fomby draft be accepted by the majority of the community? Will the concerned residents provide feedback to Captain Fomby after he completes the Crowd Management Policy draft?

Notes:

Try to have two to six pages of notes. Write your “before” and “during” notes here, or copy from another source. Revise your notes before submitting.

On Tuesday, Feb.ruary 25th, 2025, was a very pleasant day, the Garfield Community Learning Center hostedthe day The City of Akron held tThe Crowd Management Policy Forum at the Garfield Community Learning Center Home - Garfield 9-12 CLC. This particular forum was held to help the national policing consultant Spencer Fomby Spencer Fomby - Public Order Policing hear the ideas that residents would like to see drafted in the policy. Consultant Fomby is an expert in police practices and iIncident aAction pPlans.

The cCommunity fForum’s had an agenda, started with iIntroductory rRemarks from University of Akron law professor Brant Lee Brant T. Lee : The University of Akron, Ohio, followed by an introduction to Captain Fomby and the Community Forum. This particular time was offered to hear general responses. More than 10Over ten residents shared their views, emotions, frustration and opinions about the forum, police. Fomby and the City of Akron. 

The Akron Bail Fund Akron Bail Fund - Action Network is a group with grassroots, abolitionist organization working to liberate all people from jail and the criminal-legal system in Akron, OH. After suing the City of Akron followingafter the Copley Road protests (_YEAR? April of 2023___) and other assemblies, due to black men being killed by police, there was an agreement with city officials the City of Akron to revisit its take another look at the crowd management policy. Protecting protesters’ freedom of speech was very important, according to several from a number of residents attending the community forumwho voiced this concern. 

There are some prohibited practices that police can not use during peaceful protests. For example, wWater can not be used; and neither can dogs. Fomby, tThe policing expert, Captain Fomby is trusted  with creating elieved to create a draft of an updated policy — with constitutional policing as itsthe foundation of the policy.  

Fomby stated “ my position here is not to advocate for any person.”

Captain Fomby will be giving his opinion based on his experience. Every police agency has a different culture. 

Fomby “ You can’t have a policy violation, if you don’t have things clearly spelled out in policy.”

During the community forum’s public feedback session, one resident expressed frustration with the event’s format of community forums. Another resident who lived downtown during the Jayland Walker protests and wanted to know, once property is damaged, how Akronwill the police handle the situations. 

Resident Duane Strong said “ make them stick to the rules, keep it simple and make it happen.” Being a sergeant in the military, provided Strong with the leadership training he believed was adequate. 

To prevent and stop problems within the Akron Police Department Culture, residents want accountability. 

Residents would like for the policy to be clear and short with no loopholes. There was applause echoing support for a new policy that will not be thirty pages.  

Some residents wanted to express their anger and frustration with what they believed wasis taunting and harassing behavior from Akron police officers asthe Akron Police Department after they exercised their Ffirst Aamendment right — of freedom of speech. 

One resident who offered comments, was a proud protester. 

Half of the people in attendance were assumed to have never been a part  of a protest by a resident who had participated in the protest. 

Feeling safe and knowing justice will prevail seemed to be an idea and goal of resident speakers the community wants to experience. Regardless if another police shooting happens, residents would like for their voice to be heard from their City leadership, and police shooting of black men to decrease and stop. During the forum, residents would address the crowd and totally disregard any attempt to directly interact with Fomby.

With personal safety in question for some of the residents, taking the amount of time over five minutes to express their dislike for the current policy and handling of the current process seems sufficient. One resident believes having the community fForum was a waste of tax -dollars. 

Community may include different personalities and people. Compassion, patience and hope for change, may have been the underlying cause and motivation for the residents who attended the meeting. One resident stoodhad to stand in front of a police tank during a protest, something some people may not agree with. 

The woman who had to experience seeing a tank in front of her, seemed frustrated and angry about the method of dispersing the crowd, with intimidating police equipment.

With a 60-day comment period for feedback on Fomby’s new policy work, this meeting was evident, people would like to be treated fairly and have their rights protected. The Forum was a platform for residents to submit ideas for the new policy.

Community to police positive interaction building seems to need work. Being respected is what residents would like to know, while positive interactions may build trust.