Akron voters have given the city’s independent police auditor subpoena power and a guaranteed answer from the police chief, and now City Hall, the oversight board and the auditor’s office must turn that charter language into a working system. Issue 13 was approved in the Nov. 3 general election and was the subject of a detailed follow-up report published Nov. 6 by the Akron Beacon Journal.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Issue 13 was approved by about 57% of voters, beating the “no” vote by roughly 9,000 ballots, despite opposition from the Akron police union and initial concerns raised by the mayor. A second Beacon Journal results report put the share at 57.7% with all precincts reporting, and Signal Akron also reported nearly 58% backed the measure. All results remain unofficial until certified by the Summit County Board of Elections.
The core change is authority. Under Issue 13, Independent Police Auditor Anthony Finnell can subpoena records and compel testimony from private citizens and public employees, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The amendment also adds three community-selected seats to the oversight board, chosen through what the paper described as “a civil rights organization process,” and requires the police chief to respond in writing to Finnell’s recommendations within 45 days.
Before the vote, the board’s nine members were appointed through City Hall — three by the mayor with City Council approval and six by a two-thirds vote of council, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Board Chair Kemp Boyd told the paper the board must now craft a “community-informed” process for filling the three new seats. Boyd told the Akron Beacon Journal: “It’s important to have the mayor’s and city council’s involvement, but we also need to have a more inclusive process on the board.”
The vote reaches back to 2022, when, after the police killing of Jayland Walker, voters created the oversight board through Issue 10. Freedom BLOC Executive Director Ray Greene Jr. said in a statement reported by the Akron Beacon Journal that Issue 13 finishes what voters began that year, calling the 2022 measure a compromise that cut provisions the community had asked for and saying Tuesday’s vote restores them.
Finnell is signaling restraint. He told the Akron Beacon Journal he does not foresee using subpoena power often, described it as a “safeguard” if cooperation falters, and noted his office already could request information and has cooperative relationships with the city and police. He told the paper a subpoena might be most useful for material outside the city, such as surveillance footage from a private business, and that even then he would prefer voluntary cooperation or public-records procedures first.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is known is the framework voters approved: subpoena authority for the auditor, three additional community-selected board seats, and a 45-day written-response deadline for the police chief, all now in the charter. What is not yet known is how each piece will operate day to day. Finnell told the Akron Beacon Journal his office still needs to discuss how subpoenas would be authorized and issued and what would follow if one were ignored, and anticipated the board and the city’s Law Department would need to determine what implementing policies or legislation are required.
Mayor Shammas Malik, who had previously expressed concerns about Issue 13, said the city will implement it. Malik told the Akron Beacon Journal his administration will undoubtedly comply with the new law and is looking at whether added staffing or capacity will be needed. In a statement posted on Facebook and reported by the paper, Malik said his administration would work with City Council, the oversight board and the auditor’s office to implement the amendments.
The police union is accepting the result while preserving a legal objection. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7 President Brian Lucey told the Akron Beacon Journal voters had spoken and he respects that decision, but called Issue 13 “legally questionable” and said if it violates the union’s collective bargaining agreement, the union would handle it accordingly — a path the paper noted can include filing a grievance.
City Councilman At-Large Eric Garrett took the opposite view. In a statement posted on Facebook and reported by the Akron Beacon Journal, Garrett celebrated the passage of Issues 11, 12 and 13, wrote that “the people have spoken” and that City Hall needs to listen, and criticized the union’s opposition. Issues 11 and 12, approved the same night, address housing, including renter fees and security-deposit installments, according to the Beacon Journal.
For residents, the practical effect will be measured in individual cases: whether auditor reviews draw a written answer from the chief within 45 days, and whether recommendations are adopted, modified or rejected with reasons on the record. Finnell told the Akron Beacon Journal the response deadline may prove to be among the amendment’s most significant provisions, because it ensures recommendations receive a timely response.
What happens next is implementation. The city must update its charter language, the board must adopt the community-informed process for its three new seats in consultation with the residents who put Issue 13 on the ballot, and the auditor’s office, the board and the Law Department must settle subpoena procedures. Watch those steps — and the Board of Elections’ certification — as the first tests of how quickly the system voters approved becomes the system that actually operates.