Jennifer Walls, award winning teacher formerly with Akron Public Schools, joined the Ray Horner Morning Show. It is National Teachers Week! Jennifer talked about the profession.
Akron Police Officer Who Shot, Injured 15 Year Old, Fired
Written by Jeanne Destro
The Akron Police officer who is currently under investigation for shooting a 15 year old boy in the hand who was holding a toy gun on April 1st, has been fired from his job, for two other, unrelated use of force incidents.
Officials say Officer Ryan Westlake was involved in a use of force incident on December 23, 2023, as well as on on March 1, 2024.
Both of those incidents resulted in him being charged with Conduct Unbecoming of an Akron Police Officer, and Violating the Akron Police Division Resisting Arrest/Use of Force Procedure.
Meanwhile, criminal charges against the 15 year old boy who got shot by Officer Ryan Westlake—Tavion Koonce-Williams—have been dropped, pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting which is being conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
He had been charged with brandishing a replica firearm in the presence of a public safety officer, which is a misdemeanor.
Criminal Charge Dismissed Against Teen Shot, Injured, By Akron Police
Written by Jeanne Destro
Summit County Juvenile Court Judge, Linda Tucci Teodosio, granted a request from the Summit County Prosecutor's office, to dismiss a charge of brandishing a replica firearm in the presence of a public safety officer, that had been lodged against15 year old Tavion Koonce-Williams, who was shot in the hand by an Akron police officer on April 1st.
The misdemeanor charge was dropped pending the completion of an investigation into the incident, by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
Summit County Prosecutor, Elliott Kolkovitch, says "Pursuing charges at this time against Mr. Koonce-Williams could undermine the independence of BCI investigation”, adding that “Charging decisions should only be made after the completion of a thorough review of the incident by independent investigators.”
Koonce-Williams, was shot by Akron police officer, Ryan Westlake, who responded call about a teen teen pointing a gun–which was later determined to be fake– at homes near the intersection of Tonawanda Avenue and Newton Street, in Goodyear Heights.
Since then, the City released details about Westlake's employment record, incidating he had been disciplined in the past for inappropriate behavior, and Koonce-Williams' family is calling on the City to fire him for "excessive force" in connection with this "traumatizing" shooting.
Dr. Jennifer Savitski Discusses Abortion & Akron Rountable Appearance
Written by Steffany MurdockDr. Jennifer Savitski, Doctor with Cleveland Clinic Akron General, joined the Ray Horner Morning Show. She will be a guest speaker at this month's Akron Roundtable. She talked with Ray about the upcoming discussion on Abortion.
Business of the Week: McNeill & Sons Tree Service
Written by Steffany MurdockEach week WAKR's Ray Horner profiles a local business. This week Ray featured McNeill & Sons Tree Service.
Akron Expands Free RING Doorbell Cam Program Featured
Written by Jeanne Destro
All Akron residents can now apply to receive a free Amazon RING doorbell security camera, as part of the city's ongoing effort to increase neighborhood security.
What started as a pilot program in three of the city's ten wards last year, has now expanded outside of just wards 3, 4, ad 5.
City officials are using federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to buy the cameras, and have allotted 300 per ward. This is in addition to the 400 originally given out to residents in four particularly high crime areas last year.
Now, in order to fight crime, the free cameras come with some strings attached. When residents apply to receive one, they have to agree to terms and conditions, that include being willing to help police who may need to access some of the video footage captured by the cameras.
Keep in mind when you listen to our interview with Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville, that she says providing video footage for police is "entirely voluntary", but that is not exactly what the terms and conditions that are posted on the Akron City Council website indicate.
They include:
- Applicant will timely create a RING account and will use his/her/their best efforts to notify the City and/or provide it with access to footage for law enforcement review suspected or actual criminal activity that does, or could,
rise to the level of a felony. - Applicant shall not in any way obstruct or object to the City’s request to review RING footage so long as the Akron Police Department reasonably believes it is necessary to the investigation of an actual or potential felony crimes.
These conditions have not changed since the program began last year.
However, the way that police can interact with citizens via the Neighbors app, that is used in conjunction with the RING cameras, has changed.
Police used to be able to contact citizens in a selected area directly through the Neighbors app, and ask for them to send links to video from their cameras. That is no longer possible, though, because Amazon has disabled that feature, and now insists that police come to them with a warrant, or proof of exigent circumstances, if they want to access video that citizens don't supply to them voluntarily.
But, while police cannot reach out to people for video through the app; they can still ask them for it directly, without going through the app.
Akron Police Captain, Michael Miller explains, "The changes prevent us from sending a geo-notification to area residents, but they can still provide video links if they want. For example, if we are searching/canvassing an area and believe a crime occurred in a particular location, the homeowner can still send the police department a video link of any footage they captured. The goal all along was to enhance public safety and position us to solve crimes."
With all that in mind, listen now, to my recent conversation with Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville:
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Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville
Golf Pro, Dan Dauk, joins Ray every Friday with tips and info for golfers. This week they talked about ball placement.
Golf Pro, Dan Dauk, joins Ray every Friday to talk about local golf courses. This week they discussed Fox Den Golf Course in Stow.
Mayor Malik Newly Engaged! & Updates on Police Chief & More
Written by Steffany MurdockShammas Malik, Mayor of Akron, is newly engaged! He discussed the proposal trip, the new treatment facility in Akron, the Police Chief search, and more.
Each Friday, Tim Alcorn joins the Ray Horner Morning Show for 3 questions about the Cavs and the NBA! This week they covered the Cavs win over Orlando and the upcoming game.
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Film Study Professor Joe Fortunato joins the Ray Horner Morning Show every Friday to discuss classic films. This week they went back to 1999 with the Actoin/Sci-Fi film, The Matrix.
Guardians Broadcaster, Jim Rosenhaus, joins the Ray Horner Morning Show every Friday to talk baseball in 'Bases & Balls! Thhis week they covered the Bullpen, extra inning games, Steven Kwan, and more.
Each month, Ray Horner sits down with Akron dignitaries of the past and present. This month, Ray talked with Senator Vernon Sykes.
Terry Pluto, Sports Columnist, joined the Ray Horner Morning Show. He talked about the Cavaliers in the playoffs, the hot Guardians, and the Browns possibly getting a new stadium.