Police-protesters’ interaction at Akron traffic stop goes viral - Akron Beacon Journal

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A traffic stop near Akron’s Highland Square led to a polarizing Facebook video as protesters and police interacted, leading to one arrest.

The man arrested said he and others filming the traffic stop are an example of the community "policing the police."

But a police union leader said a video posted by a local protest leader shows officers acted professionally when faced by "agitators" who spewed profanities and insults.

The incident — and reaction to it online — captures the divide between community members and law enforcement and a growing rift between people online.

The situation started when Akron police stopped a driver on South Highland Avenue who was suspected of speeding on West Market Street through Highland Square after 6 p.m. July 5, according to the police report.

At the time, people who had been protesting earlier in Akron that day were eating at a nearby restaurant.

In the report, the officer said he was talking to the driver when he heard taunting and yelling from behind him. Three men then approached the cruiser, filming on their phones.

Joshua Fetzer was one of the men filming the traffic stop. He would later post his video — including footage of him being arrested -- on Facebook.

Fetzer said he and others responded when they saw a driver being pulled over.

"Our purpose is for the community to police the police," Fetzer said. "The police need responsibility. They've had too much free rein for too long. We’re not going to walk the streets and say, ‘See a cop, watch a cop’ and not watch a cop."

The video shows Fetzer, along with others, asking the officer and driver the reason for the traffic stop.

According to the report, the officer calls for backup. The officer addressed Fetzer and another man on the left sidewalk, before going to the right sidewalk to ask a man to move because he was interfering with the traffic stop.

The video shows Fetzer walking across the road telling the officer to not "intimidate" the other person filming. At this point, the video shows the officer coming back, and Fetzer is arrested.

Fetzer said he was worried for his friend and wanted to keep a camera filming him.

According to the police report, Fetzer was arrested on charges of obstructing official business and disorderly conduct — charges he says are unwarranted.

The police report said there were about a dozen other people yelling and chanting at officers, "likely due to the screaming and taunting done by Fetzer."

Fetzer said the officer later told him that he was scared by Fetzer’s actions, and felt threatened.

If that’s the issue, Fetzer said, he should have been detained and then released, not arrested.

He also questions why he was booked in jail on two misdemeanor charges during a pandemic, instead of being given a summons to appear in court.

Shawn Mansfield, who helped organize some of the larger protests in Akron, posted a second video of the incident that appears to have been filmed immediately after Fetzer’s arrest.

As of Friday, the video has about 126,000 views, over 950 shares and more than 5,000 comments.

In the video, Mansfield can be heard yelling expletives and insults at officers. Protesters also start to shout "United we stand, divided we fall," along with "I can’t breathe" and other chants.

"We're tired of y’all," Mansfield said in the video. "We don’t need y'all to police us. We can police ourselves."

FOP Times Akron 7, a Facebook Page run by the police union, also shared the video, calling the protesters "agitators."

"Akron City Council members say their biggest complaint is speeding in the neighborhoods," the post from the union’s page said. "An officer running radar in the Highland Square area pulled over a driver doing 48 mph in a 25 mph zone. He was surrounded by agitators and had to call for backup. I doubt the city of Akron will use this footage for their next recruitment video."

Clay Cozart, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge, said the biggest issue he takes with the video is Mansfield’s language toward police officers.

Mansfield has met with city administration in the past about demands for police reform.

"That's the language he’s going to use towards police?" Cozart asked. "That’s the kind of person we're going to sit down and have a conversation about police reform? I think it’s ridiculous."

Akron press secretary Ellen Lander Nischt said the mayor was meeting with another organizer on June 11 who told the city at the last minute that he’d invited Mansfield. She said Mansfield was allowed to attend but had not been invited.

"The mayor has never, and would never, support or condone heckling officers, using derogatory language or anything of that nature," Nischt said. "Anyone who would suggest otherwise clearly has no understanding of Mayor Horrigan's values or leadership style."

Cozart said the video shows officers remained professional, even when he said protesters were "baiting" them.

"I don't know what point he was trying to make, but I think he made our point much better than the point he was trying to make," Cozart said.

Mansfield said he doesn’t regret anything he said. He said they expressed their free speech and were not being violent or agitating the situation.

Mansfield also said bad words don’t compare to the things done to the Black community over the years, saying that oppression has created this tension between protesters and police.

"It’s unfortunate that it has to be this way, but it’s because of all the police brutality that happened throughout the years," Mansfield said. "Excuse us if we’re tired. Excuse us if we use vulgar words. Excuse us if we want change."

The reactions have been mixed, with Facebook users from across the country posting what Mansfield says are hateful and racist messages in response to his video.

Fetzer said he’s received a lot of support, but also a lot of hate.

"People call us unpatriotic, but we feel like we’re doing the most patriotic thing," Fetzer said.

Mansfield said that he and other protesters want to work with lawmakers to create reform.

But the lack of trust in police makes it hard to start that dialogue, he said.

"Where is the middle ground? I don't think there is any middle ground at this point until we come out with a solution to figure this thing out," Mansfield said.

Reach Akron Beacon Journal reporter Sean McDonnell at smcdonnell@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3186.

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