City of Akron Announces Tentative Settlement Concerning the Death of Jazmir Tucker

Today, the City of Akron is announcing that a tentative  settlement has been reached in the pending civil litigation concerning the death of Jazmir  Tucker. Based on the recommendation of the City Law Department, as well as  independent outside counsel representing the officers named in the litigation, the City has  agreed to settle all claims in exchange for $4,750,000. The settlement is now pending  approval by a probate judge.  

Director of Law, Brian Angeloni commented: “No settlement can change the profound  impact that Mr. Tucker’s death has had on his family, loved ones, and the broader  community. The tentative settlement was reached through a federal mediation process, which was suggested by District Court Judge Pearson, and reflects the agreement of the  parties involved. The agreement contains no admission of wrongdoing and allows all  parties to avoid the uncertainty, expense, and emotional burden of prolonged litigation.  The ability to settle this matter at this early stage in the litigation process represents the  responsible legal and financial decision for the City. Every legal case involves real events  and real people's lives. Our responsibility is to approach these matters with rigorous  preparation and sound legal judgment while never losing sight of the people affected by  them.” 

“The loss of life and the circumstances in this case were absolutely tragic, with enormous  human and financial costs,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. “We have a responsibility  to make policy changes that reduce the likelihood of cases like this happening in the  future. That means continuing to strengthen policies, training, supervision, and  accountability across our police department. Multimillion-dollar settlements also come at a significant cost to Akron taxpayers and divert resources from the investments our  community needs. Our focus remains on fostering a culture of continuous improvement in  our police department – to protect our residents, support our officers in their hard work,  and continue to earn the trust of the community.” 

Earlier this year, the City released the findings of an independent review by the Police  Executive Research Forum (PERF) examining the Department's use-of-force policies.  Akron has already implemented 18 of the report's 58 recommendations, including  significant changes to modernize APD's use-of-force policies through a comprehensive  approach focused on preserving life, improving decision-making, and continually learning  from critical incidents. The City continues to publicly track implementation progress each  month through an online dashboard. This work, combined with the additional reforms to  the accountability process announced today around improving the city’s internal review  process, reflects the administration's commitment to strengthening APD's policies,  training, supervision, investigations, and accountability and building a police department  that earns and maintains the trust of the community it serves.