The family of Jazmir Tucker, a 15-year-old boy fatally shot by Akron police officer Davon Fields last Thanksgiving, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Akron and various members of its police department. The suit was filed nearly a year after the incident, which occurred on Nov. 28, 2024, a date that for the Tucker family, will forever be marked by grief and unanswered questions. According to WKYC, a press conference by The Cochran Firm representing Tucker's family was scheduled for 11 a.m. today to discuss the details of the suit.
The 37-page legal document alleges that Officer Fields employed excessive force "without justification" and points to "a long-standing policing problem that disproportionately impacts people of color" within the Akron Police Department, referencing several high-profile use-of-force cases over recent years. As reported by FOX8, a Summit County grand jury declined to file criminal charges against any officers involved in Tucker's death last month, a move that has surely compounded the family's pursuit of justice. The family's attorneys have spoken out, calling the shooting "tragic and senseless."
Apart from Fields, the lawsuit targets multiple city officials, including Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, Police Chief Brian Harding, and other supervising officers present at the scene. According to Cleveland.com, the suit criticizes the Akron Police Department's alleged systemic failures in de-escalation training and bias, citing statistics that more than half of all fatal Akron police shootings since 2000 involved Black individuals, in a city where Black people make up 31% of the population. Mayor Malik himself has publicly criticized the shooting and the officers' subsequent actions.
Additional details noted in the lawsuit shed light on the incident's unfolding, claiming Tucker posed "no immediate threat" and that officers delayed approximately eight minutes before administering medical aid. In a statement obtained by FOX8, the fatal shooting involved eight shots fired from an assault rifle, with two bullets striking Tucker in the back. The officers did not activate their body-worn cameras as they exited their cruiser, leading to a lack of video evidence from the moments leading up to the shooting. A semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine was later found in Tucker’s zipped-up jacket pocket, however, the family's lawsuit argues that the presence of the weapon offered no immediate threat justifying the use of deadly force.
