Akron’s police auditor is once again calling for Akron Police to undergo de-escalation training and amend the department's use-of-force policy.
On Wednesday, Anthony Finnell released a report challenging a use-of-force incident previously declared “objectively reasonable” in a police department internal investigation.
Finnell’s report addresses a traffic stop from June 2024 in which Officer Warren Spragg IV punched Terrell Battles several times while attempting to remove him from a car.
Spragg was sued in federal court last year for a similar incident. Spragg and another officer, Thomas Phillips, punched another Akron resident, Jordan Ely, several times in the face during an arrest in 2023. The city settled that case in December 2024.
In the June 2024 incident, Battles sustained multiple serious injuries, including a concussion, and required hospitalization, Finnell said.
The situation escalated, he said, when Battles asked officers why he needed to get out of the car. A back-and-forth verbal exchange transpired between Battles and the officers. Eventually, Spragg used force to remove Battles from the vehicle, Finnell said.
“This was a verbal exchange that somehow led to a person being beaten,” Finnell said. “[Battles] never punched, kicked or anything.”
Officers initiated the stop because the car’s plates expired earlier that year, according to the report. Officers discovered the driver, Battles’ brother Dorrell, was a suspended driver and arrested him.
Battles was in the passenger seat. Officers did not answer his question of why he needed to get out of the car, according to the report.
Officers needed to tow the car -- but that information was never communicated to Battles, Finnell said.
“Instead of saying, 'Your tags are expired, you don’t have insurance, we need to tow the car' - he was told, ‘Because I said so. Get out. I can remove you.’ So, that was a missed opportunity for de-escalation,” Finnell said.
Finnell recommends further de-escalation training for officers and wants Officer Spragg to be disciplined for his conduct.
Finnell is also doubling down on his previous calls for the police department work with his office to review and amend its use-of-force policy.
Akron City Council is expected to vote Monday on Mayor Shammas Malik’s proposal to spend more than $640,000 to hire outside consultants for this review.
The Citizens’ Police Oversight Board unanimously approved Finnell’s report during its meeting Wednesday night.
Earlier in the meeting, the president of Akron’s police union pushed back on the board’s prior calls for de-escalation.
Brian Lucey of the Akron Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 spoke during the board’s public comment period. He criticized comments made by attendees at a recent community forum held by Councilmember Eric Garrett. Finnell and several CPOB members gave presentations at that meeting.
“[Attendees] wanted just to scream and shout about how they hate the police,” Lucey said. “These are the individuals that the city of Akron [and] this board continue to pander to.”
Lucey called the meeting’s attendees a “mob” and said it was “chaos.”
“You guys were put to the test for de-escalation. How well did you do?” Lucey asked the board.
Several people who attended the oversight board’s meeting Wednesday pushed back on Lucey’s comments.
“The people who were at the meeting showed a lot of passion around having some say in how our own police department handles themselves in the community,” said resident Jennifer Boswell. “I did not at all feel that it was out of control.”
Additionally, the oversight board discussed plans to request $965,871 in the city’s 2025 budget, an increase from its 2024 budget of $414,479.
Proposed new staff positions account for more than half of the increase, Finnell said. Finnell hopes to hire a full-time executive assistant, a part-time data analyst to help with reviewing body camera footage and a part-time intern.
City Council is expected to begin hearings to discuss the proposed operating budgets from all city departments in the first week of March.
