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Activists tell council surveillance cameras tracked them, demand receipts for $650,000 investigation
Summary
Public commenters accused Akron police of using fixed cameras to track activists, said complaints to oversight boards remain unresolved after months, and demanded transparency about a cited $650,000 investigation fund.
Multiple public commenters at Akron City Council accused the Akron Police Department of using fixed surveillance cameras to track activists and demanded transparency over an investigation said to have received $650,000 nearly nine months earlier.
Autumn Riddle, who identified herself as an activist, told the council she had filed several complaints with the oversight board and the police department and said the complaints remained unresolved. "We're out of patience. It's gonna be 10 months. We are demanding justice for Jasmine Tucker. No justice. It's not gonna be any peace, Malik," she said, addressing Mayor Malik by name.
Another commenter who identified as "Enlightened Son" demanded the council show receipts for an investigation he said the mayor had authorized: "Show the people. Show us the receipt where you spent that $650,000 because I know I could have invested that money into the community," he said.
Riddle alleged specific Akron Police Department personnel searched or tracked activists and vehicles using camera systems, naming Brian Lucy, Erica Wiles and Noah Smith in her remarks. She said the surveillance database allows searches "by vehicle characteristics" and worried the tool meant to protect the city could "undermine the rights of those working to improve it." She said she had filed complaints with the oversight board and the police station.
Why it matters: commenters framed the claims as both an accountability and civil‑liberties issue — alleging that data from fixed cameras can be searched and used in ways that target activists and community organizers, and that an investigation fund has not been transparently reported to the public.
What the council record shows: these statements were made during the public-comment period. The council did not make any formal findings or vote on the allegations during the meeting, and no staff response or follow-up action appears in the meeting minutes. One council member later encouraged private follow-up conversations with speakers, but no formal direction to staff was recorded on the floor.
Notes and attribution: the article reports allegations made by speakers during public comment. The council record does show that the city has authorized contracts for a case-management and database system for the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor (approved in the same meeting), which council members said would support oversight functions; the meeting record does not include staff testimony, contract details or receipts for any investigation funds mentioned by public commenters.
