Jazmir Tucker Lawsuit says the 15 Yr. Old Posed No Threat When a Cop Shot Him in the Back. Blacks are Disproportionately Killed by Cops in Akron, a City Controlled by White Liberals. Cop Not Charged

From [HERE] The family of a 15-year-old Black boy who was fatally shot by an Akron police officer sued the city on Monday over the Thanksgiving Day 2024 shooting that sparked controversy and protests.

Jazmir Tucker, a North High School freshman, “posed no immediate threat” before Akron police officer Davon Fields shot Tucker three times — including twice in the back, the lawsuit said.

Officers waited about eight minutes before giving Tucker medical aid and later found a gun zipped up in a jacket pocket, the lawsuit said.

Tucker family attorneys Stanley Jackson and Robert Gresham called the shooting “tragic and senseless.”

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of Tucker’s mother, Amy Green, in federal court in Akron. It names Fields and several other police officers as defendants, along with the city.

It accuses Fields of using excessive force and the department of systemic failures in de-escalation training and bias. The lawsuit says that since 2000, more than half of all fatal Akron police shootings were of Black people in a city where 31% of the population is Black.

The lawsuit also says Fields violated several police policies, including failing to activate his body camera and give medical aid after the shooting.

Fields and another officer on Nov. 28, 2024, reported hearing gunshots while filling out a police report while parked near Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts on East Avenue.

He and his partner ran toward Tucker, and Fields fired eight shots from an assault rifle, the lawsuit says.

Fields did not activate his body camera as he left his cruiser, so it captured none of the moments before the shooting.

Investigators found two fired bullet casings that matched Tucker’s gun near where the boy was shot and later found the gun had been recently fired.

The Summit County medical examiner’s office found that Tucker was shot twice in the back and once in his right arm. The shots to his back were fatal, officials said.

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik has criticized the shooting and officers’ response and questioned why officers needed to shoot Tucker when the gun was in the boy’s pocket.

Tucker’s death sparked protests in Akron, including after a Summit County grand jury declined charges against Fields last month.

Earlier this year, Summit County officials turned the case over to Mahoning County prosecutors to handle after a state investigation.

John Juhasz, the criminal chief of the Mahoning County office, said the case “was fairly investigated and fairly presented to the grand jury.”

He said the panel heard from witnesses over a series of days.

Activists blasted the grand jury’s decision. It comes two years after another Summit County grand jury declined to indict eight Akron officers in the shooting death of Jayland Walker following a police chase.

“God calls us to forgiveness, but God also demands accountability,” said the Rev. Raymond Greene, the leader of the Freedom BLOC in Akron. “What happened today is not accountability, it is complicity.

“Every time a grand jury refuses to hold an officer responsible, the system tells us loud and clear that Black life in Akron is disposable.” [MORE]

The shooting is one of several high-profile police shooting cases in Akron in recent years. They include Jayland Walker, who was shot 45 times by officers in 2022. His family settled a lawsuit against Akron police for $4.8 million.

The lawsuit’s filing comes less than two weeks after an Akron officer shot and wounded Corey Phillips, who was unarmed. The officers fired 12 gunshots at Phillips within 25 seconds of encountering him on Nov. 11, officials said.