An Akron police officer was punched, bitten and nearly disarmed while responding to a burglary call at a vacant building on Copley Road this past Monday, prompting condemnation from the mayor, city council and the police union. The officer was treated at a local hospital and released, while the man accused of attacking her remains behind bars on a $100,000 bond.
According to ideastream.org, the officer was called to 914 Copley Road for a reported burglary and spotted 56-year-old Leotis Daggett exiting the vacant building from behind a piece of plywood. When she tried to stop him, a struggle broke out. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 president said Daggett punched the officer in the face and bit her during the confrontation, per the same outlet.
Daggett also tried to take the officer's firearm during the struggle, according to WKYC. The officer was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital for treatment and later released, the station reported. Police have not made public the specific nature of her injuries.
Charges and Custody
Officers also found Daggett carrying crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia, WKYC reported. He was charged with aggravated robbery, assault on a peace officer, possession of controlled substances, obstructing official business and resisting arrest. As of Wednesday, Daggett remained in custody at the Summit County Jail on a $100,000/10% bond, and court records listed no attorney for him, according to Cleveland.com.
Under Ohio law, assault against a peace officer is a fourth-degree felony, according to the Ohio Revised Code. Aggravated robbery becomes a first-degree felony when the offender knows or has reasonable cause to know the victim is a law-enforcement officer, per a separate section of the Ohio Revised Code.
City Leaders Respond
Akron City Council issued a statement saying the officer who was violently assaulted is recovering well, and that the council stands with her, her family and the Akron Police Department. Council also said attacking a police officer should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, ideastream.org reported.
Mayor Shammas Malik condemned the assault, saying public safety officials should not be subjected to violence while performing their duties. “It doesn't make them deserving of violence,” Malik said, per ideastream.org's report on the city's response.
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said assaults against law enforcement officers are a serious concern that have significantly increased in Akron, and that such attacks will not be tolerated. Harding said the Akron Police Department will work with the Summit County Prosecutor's Office to hold people who assault officers accountable, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
A Disputed Spike in Assaults
Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan presented statistics on assaults against Akron officers at a city council public safety committee meeting, saying the figure had climbed to 30 assaults in 2026 compared with 17 in 2025 — a 76% increase, according to Yahoo News. Akron City Council President Pro Tempore Tina Boyes, however, cited a 70% increase in officer assaults compared with the same time last year, per WKYC's report. Separately, News 5 Cleveland reported that Akron police have logged at least 40 assaults on officers since the start of the year.
Morgan also told Yahoo News that other categories of crime in Akron have moved in the opposite direction this year, with robberies down 13%, burglaries down 12% and breaking-and-entering offenses down 30% compared with the previous year. Nationally, the FBI reported 90,178 officer assaults in 2025, a rate the agency said marked the highest in the past decade.
