New Ohio Chief Stresses Citizens' Role in Reducing Violent Crime

New Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett took his oath of office Thursday and made a pledge to bring about change — in particular with regard to gun violence, which this year is on track to reach a record number of homicides.

But he also stressed the police department can't do it alone.

"Together, we must find a way to end this senseless loss of human life, and a way to end this gun violence," he said. "Folks, I think we all want the same things — a safe community to raise our families, a thriving economy and job opportunities and a place where every person is treated fairly with dignity, respect and humanity, no matter what they look like, who they love, how they worship God or how much money they have in their pocket."

In Akron, there were 35 homicides as of Aug. 11, on pace to approach last year's record of 56 by year's end.

Mylett discussed the first steps he would take to deal with the violence by relating to his experience as an assistant police chief in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he said violent crime was cut 50% during his time there.

"Collaboratively, with the community, we built and caused strategies to reduce the gang violence," he said, giving credit to the leadership of the police chief to whom he reported. "The police department cannot do it by itself. It has got to be every stakeholder bringing something to the table.

"We had the community, we had the faith-based organizations, we had all city departments collaborating to tackle this — it was an insane level of violence that we were seeing in Corpus. I bring that experience to the table."

Mylett, whose first official day on the job was Aug. 9, also said he believes the Akron Police Department and the city have been working toward that goal of bringing the community together, under Mayor Daniel Horrigan's leadership.

"The faith-based community is key to the success in this, but we're going to work hard. We're going to look at the past and see what has not worked, and also what has worked," he added. "We're going to put it under the microscope of today and come up with innovative ways to tackle it so that in the future, we're not going to have to deal with this ever again."

He also pledged to be as open as possible with the media and the public, then turned to a line of uniformed supervisors on one side of the packed room to reassure them that he will never compromise investigations.

"I will lead with integrity. I will never do anything to bring dishonor to this profession, this badge, or this city," he said.

Leadership changes

Mylett, 56, succeeds former Police Chief Ken Ball, who served the department for 29 years before retiring in February.

Ball had served the last three years of his career as chief, drawing some criticism after he told City Council he felt renewed scrutiny of police operations was a "knee-jerk reaction" to police brutality in other parts of the country. Ball replaced former Chief James Nice, who resigned amid allegations of wrongdoing and using a racial slur.

Mylett was one of four finalists in the city's search, which in one survey determined the three main issues residents were concerned with included reducing police use of force; reducing racial disparities; and community-oriented policing.

Other candidates included Joseph Sullivan, 58, who retired in 2020 as deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department's patrol operations, Chris Davis, 50, a deputy chief of the Portland, Oregon, police department, and Eric Hawkins, 53, the police chief of Albany, New York. Hawkins, the only Black finalist, withdrew his name from consideration.

Mylett's long career

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Mylett is the son of a New York City police officer and has brothers, uncles and cousins who are also in law enforcement.

A police officer since 1989, he was formerly chief of police in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, a police chief in Southlake, Texas, and an assistant chief of police in Corpus Christi, Texas, a city of over 300,000.

It was in Corpus Christi that Mylett said the department had a dramatic role to play in reducing crime during the mid- to late-2000s.

As chief of police in Bellevue, he focused on building relationships between the police department and the community, in addition to fostering diversity in the recruitment of new officers.

Community leaders react

Akron City Council at-large representative Linda Omobien said she's already run into Mylett at one community event, adding she is hopeful he will be a key player in bringing the community together.

"The violence that we're experiencing is too much and it has to stop," she said, adding she agrees with Mylett that it is going to take the involvement of churches, community groups and others in the community to make a difference.

"He's in charge of the police department, but then he's going to be part of the community. And everybody in the community has a part to play in addressing this problem," she said. "He's making his way around and getting to know people."

Ginger Baylor, another at-large council member, said she expects the new chief to "jump right in to our collaborative environment.

"As he explained, that's how they were able to reduce crime by 50% by working with the entire community," she added. "He has it right."

Former Akron City Council President Marco Sommerville, a deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs, was a member of the search committee that led to Mylett's selection.

"We're really excited about him. We think we picked the right man," Sommerville said. "He was committed here, even before we picked him, he came here."

Horrigan said Mylett will play a crucial role in turning things around, but that task cannot be placed on the new chief's shoulders alone.

"It's not just a police issue. How do we dry up the supply of guns, give kids an option, or anybody else? It's a continual evaluation," he said.

Taking charge

Mylett said it may be about six months before any solid initiatives materialize.

He spent his first week on the job getting to know subordinates in the department, estimating he's already met about half of the 450-strong force by attending roll call meetings, visiting divisions and even going on a ride-along and answering some calls with officers on duty.

"I'm starting the process to build trust," he said. "My hope is I will be able to do one-on-one interviews with everybody ... I've met people in local government, county government and this next week, I'm going to be launching out into the community and meeting people in the community."

He said it should take about three months to complete an evaluation of department operations, during which time no major changes are expected to occur.

"What I'm finding so far is this police department has been doing exceptional work," he said, explaining that staff have been detailing some of the department's major issues and what is being done to address them.

"Once I get through the evaluation process, I'm going to start launching some strategy, some programs I have in mind, but I have to find out if they are even in existence here."

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