The Akron Police Department released body camera footage of a shooting that left a woman injured and caused an officer minor injuries in a South Akron neighborhood.
Body camera footage
On May 25, two Akron officers went to do a welfare check on a teen on the 400 block of Grant Street.
While officers were there, they heard gunshots nearby and responded to the 440 block of Sherman Street.
In the footage, the officers are seen exiting the police cruiser and running through the apartment parking lot towards people who were already in the lot.
Once audio comes in, two people can be heard saying, "he's right there."
Immediately after, an officer shone their flashlight, and multiple rounds of gunshots followed.
One fell to the ground and rushed back up to take cover at a nearby car.
The other officer stayed on the ground behind a car as shots were going off.
"Get down!" an officer yelled to those close by.
The officer returned fire and could be heard announcing, "21 shots fired!"
"Where'd he go?" the officer on the ground asked in a distressed tone.
"You alright?" the standing officer asked as the officer on the ground shined a light under the parked cars in search.
"Back to the cruiser, let's go," the standing officer said.
Both officers began running back to the police cruiser.
More details from Akron PD
Akron police told News 5 the incident began around 11:30 p.m.
While on the scene, officers heard gunshots nearby on Sherman Street. When officers went to check that out, they encountered a 33-year-old man with a gun running out of an apartment. The man was arrested at the scene, but he learned he was not part of the shooting.
Police said a 45-year-old man was allegedly responsible for the shooting and was arrested in the afternoon of May 26.
When police later entered the Sherman Street apartment, they found a 27-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her leg. She was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Akron FOP President Brian Lucey told News 5 that one officer also sustained some minor injuries from the incident.
In a statement to News 5, Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said:
"Often, our officers are confronted with difficult decisions in the interest of public safety and in the most extreme cases, those decisions can mean life or death. This was a dangerous interaction that had the potential to become much worse if not for the actions of our officers."
Mayor Shammas Malik released the following statement:
“I am deeply thankful that our officers are safe after responding to a call last night in which they were fired upon and responded using their weapons. I am also thankful that a young woman injured before officers arrived does not appear to face life threatening injuries. Two suspects have been apprehended, and we will work to ensure they are held accountable for their actions. Anyone perpetrating violence - towards our officers or anyone else in our community – must be held fully accountable. Today, my thoughts are with the involved officers and their families processing this dangerous situation, and with the injured victim, who I hope has a speedy recovery.”
Akron police said the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. The Office of Professional Standards and Accountability will be conducting its own internal investigation on the incident.
