AKRON, Ohio — During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Akron leaders announced new measures to keep Highland Square safe.
This comes after several troubling incidents, including a shooting this past weekend that left three people injured.
RELATED: 26-year-old man in critical condition after shooting at Highland Square
Thankfully, Harding said everyone is expected to be okay.
“There’s no specific number of police officers or any police department in America that can guarantee prevention on every single case,” said Akron Police Chief Brian Harding.
Those new measures include voluntary midnight closures from all bars, except the Highland Tavern, for just this weekend.
“This isn’t a forever decision. We will evaluate it on an ongoing basis. But we will not tolerate violence,” said Akron’s Chief of Public Safety, Craig Morgan. “Until this behavior ceases, we will do everything we can to keep our community safe.”
As for the Highland Tavern, Morgan said the Akron Fire Department will monitor the bar for capacity and other compliance issues since Mayor Shammas Malik said it will stay open.
“For them not to be willing to do this for one weekend, for one weekend, to help us get things under control, I think it tells you everything you need to know about their priorities,” said Malik.
Aside from this weekend’s bar curfew, Morgan said the parking lot behind Chipotle will close this Friday and Saturday at 11 p.m., and the Walgreens’ parking lot will also close after midnight on the same days.
Anyone parked in the lot prior to 11 p.m. will be able to exit. No one will be able to enter the lot after 11 p.m.
If your vehicle is in either lot after midnight, Morgan said it could be towed. He also said you could be arrested for trespassing if officers find you hanging around when the parking lots are closed.
“Highland Tavern’s activity continues to draw a substantial number of individuals who congregate on the sidewalk and nearby parking lots. This influx of people arrives after midnight or later with no intentions of supporting most of the businesses in the square. Most of these individuals loiter in the parking lots, and surrounding areas to consume alcohol from open containers from their own motor vehicles. By all of the other bars working with us to close earlier, we are collectively aiming to discourage the crowd from forming and engage targeted enforcement to address this type of criminal activity,” said Morgan.
Morgan understands this is an extreme measure. But he hopes it will keep large crowds from gathering so Highland Square will stay safe.
“Something (has to) be done to curb the violence that’s been happening down here,” said Matt Ross.
Although Ross isn’t concerned for his safety in Akron’s Highland Square, he and Kenneth Belkosky said enough is enough.
“Even before I moved over here, there’s been nothing but trouble,” said Belkosky.
Councilmember Fran Wilson said all of the bars’ participation except the Highland Tavern sends a clear message.
“We need this violence to stop, and we appreciate those businesses for working with us and working with the community to make that happen,” said Wilson. “This is not the time to disconnect from this neighborhood or from our community. There is a lot going on here, but we need people to double down and re-invest and continue to show up.”'
In order for the bars to go back to their normal hours, Malik said the reckless and violent behavior must end, along with compliance and capacity issues at the Highland Tavern, which he said law enforcement will continue to monitor.
“I want to know that we’re not having these issues when it comes to the parking lot parties, that we’re not having huge consumption of alcohol where we know people are also carrying weapons on our sidewalks and in our parking lots,” said Malik.
The Special Improvement District will continue to be enforced along with Akron Police officers and private security.
Update on Shooting at Lane Field
A week ago, Harding said officers responded to multiple shots being fired at Lane Field.
While Harding said no one was struck in that incident with gunfire, he said there was a 15-year-old girl who was struck by a vehicle as she was fleeing the area after gunfire erupted.
She was taken to Akron Children's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers recovered multiple shell casings and some surveillance video.
Through the evidence recovered and work from detectives on the Gun Violence Reduction Team, Harding said officers arrested a 16-year-old male and a 15-year-old male who were in possession of those firearms.
