A police report was filed last Thursday alleging that East High School Principal Vyrone Finney hit a student twice in the face after the two were involved in a verbal altercation at the school.

According to the report (see below), the incident started in an English class between the sophmore student and the teacher, security was called to the room and the student was taken to Principal Finney's office. From there, Finney escorted the student, along with security, to In School Suspension. A verbal altercation ensued, and Finney allegedly assaulted the student.

The report states that Finney admitted to striking the student "with an open hand," but claims he felt that the student was "coming at him." The student's mother was called and she reportedly declined to press charges. According to the report the incident has been sent to the Prosecutor's Office. 

Akron Public Schools responded to an inquiry from our 1590 WAKR Newsroom stating that the district has launched its own investigation into the incident and that Mr. Finney had been placed on administrative leave. 

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(AKRON POLICE - WARNING: Strong Language) **** ****, a sophomore at East High School, reported a physical altercation between him and the school principal, Vyrone Finney. **** told officers that the whole incident started while he was in English class. **** stated he had an issue with his English teacher and that the teacher called for security because **** would not go to a "buddy room" as instructed. School security made their way to his English class room and gave him the option to go to the buddy room or go to Principal Finney's office. **** chose to go to Mr. Finney's office and together, they called his mother to inform her of the incident. **** said that Mr. Finney then escorted him up to ISS (in school suspension). Once at the ISS room, **** claims that Mr Finney instructs the ISS teacher that **** is to spend the rest of the day in ISS. **** states that they agreed upon him spending only one period in ISS before returning to normal classes. **** said the two began to argue and that he commented on how tight Mr. Finney's suit was to which Mr. Finney laughed and said that he got it from ****'s mother. **** grew increasingly angry but stated he was able to keep his cool. **** said that he then went back down to the office to ask to call his mother back and to have her verify the agreed upon ISS punishment. **** claims that both the office workers and Mr. Finney tell him that he was not able to call his mother. **** said he then tried to go to his counselor to see if they would let him call home but they also said no. **** said that by this time, both security and Mr. Finney were in the hallway outside his counselor's office and instructed him to leave the building. **** states he got a drink and then walked down to the office with Mr. Finney following. **** said that he then took a seat in the office and that is when officers arrived. **** said that Mr. Finney told him to leave but he replied that he would not leave. **** was told by officers that he would be arrested if he did not leave and **** said that this got him thinking that he really needed to leave. **** goes on to say that Mr. Finney told him that he was now suspended for three days and he asked to see the paperwork. **** admits to calling Mr. Finney a "bitch" and that Mr. Finney then tells him he will be suspended for ten days if he makes him do paperwork. **** admits to calling Mr. Finney a "lazy ass bitch" and goes to stand up to leave the school. **** said that Mr. Finney then came at him and hit him in the face. **** says he was hit twice before officers were able to separate him and Mr. Finney. **** then said he left the school and made his way home. Officers spoke with Mr. Finney who said that **** was being disrespectful and was not listening to him or security. Mr. Finney said that **** has been a problem student with previously documented incidents. Mr. Finney stated that he felt **** was coming at him when he went to stand up so he admitted to striking **** with an open hand to the face. Mr. Finney told officers that, "I was not in the mood the be called a bitch today." Officers observed the altercation but did not observe any injuries to either party. Officers called ****'s mother, **** ****, and informed her of the incident. **** declined to press charges at this time and was advised that a report would still be made due to the nature of the incident. School security footage captured the incident and BWC captured the phone call with ****. APS administration and human resources were on scene to handle their side of the incident. Sgt. Kuznik on scene.

The special investigative unit of the Akron Police that was formed in February of this year and designed specifically to investigate cold case sexual assaults, is getting more federal money courtesy of the US Department of Justice.

According to a press release from the City of Akron (see below), the Akron Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is getting $1.9 Million over the course of the next three years. The money will be spread out across the Akron Police Department, Summit County Prosecutor's Office, Victim Assistance Program of Summit County, and the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit.

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(CITY OF AKRON) The Akron Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (ASAKI) Team is growing!  ASAKI, a multi-disciplinary, community response team that formed in February 2019 to investigate and prosecute cold case sexual assaults, has been awarded a second grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to enhance the team and expand its impact. 

In 2018, the Akron Police Department (APD) was awarded an initial 3-year grant (2019-2021) for nearly $1 million that provided the personnel, supplies, technology, and management systems necessary to form and support the ASAKI team.  That funding created three new detective positions, a civilian administrative position, and supported new case management software as well as the partial costs of a Summit County prosecutor and a victim assistance advocate who work with the investigators on the team.

Now, the City of Akron is proud to announce that ASAKI will receive an additional $1,980,292 over three years (2020-2022) to enhance the team.  The grant will fund additional community partner personnel, adding a research and evaluation component, and expanding evidence-based, trauma-informed investigation training for all members of the APD Investigative Subdivision.

 New funding for current members of ASAKI includes:

·        Akron Police Department: $73,953 for overtime for detectives

·        Summit County Prosecutor’s Office: $645,109 for a full-time prosecutor and paralegal

·        Victim Assistance Program of Summit County: $263,835 for 1.5 full-time victim advocates (which makes 2 full-time advocates when combined with the 2018 funding) and partial funding for a supervisor

·        Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties: $535,262 for 2 full-time victim advocates and a victim therapist

“This grant will help continue the difficult work of investigating these cold cases, convicting rapists, and potentially preventing future sexual assaults,” Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said.  “This new resource will provide my office with the tools needed to prosecute more offenders and assist my mission of keeping Summit County safe.”

This new funding also allows APD to add two new partners to the ASAKI team who will assist with the ultimate goal of cultural and institutional change in the way law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the community responds to sexual assaults.

ASAKI is partnering with the researchers from the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. The CWRU research team will receive $425,000 to collect and analyze information on the sexual assaults to better understand offending patterns and how to help improve our jurisdiction’s response to sexual assault.

“By working in collaboration with APD, we can help change how sexual assaults are handled in the criminal justice system and how the system and society view sexual assaults, victims, and offenders,” said Rachel Lovell, PhD, the lead researcher on the project. 

APD is also partnering with Dr. Patrick Palmieri of the Summa Health Traumatic Stress Center which will receive $20,000. ASAKI team members are trained in Trauma Informed Sexual Assault Investigation and Prosecution and Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI).  Dr. Palmieri will work with them to develop a customized and condensed evidence-based training on trauma-informed investigation that will be provided to APD’s entire Investigative Subdivision.

“This training not only improves the experience for survivors and witnesses experiencing trauma, but also improves investigations as a whole by yielding better information that can be used to pursue justice in these cases,” Akron Police Chief Ken Ball said.  

For more information about the work of the ASAKI team, please visit www.sakitta.org/akron.