CLEVELAND — Akron Acting Police Chief Brian Harding has been named the city's final candidate for the vacant police chief position, Mayor Shammas Malik announced Wednesday.
Harding, who served as a deputy chief with the Akron Police Department before becoming acting police chief in January, was named the final candidate after Malik and his staff conducted interviews with Harding and another finalist, Deputy Chief Jesse Lesser.
Harding will participate in town hall meetings on Saturday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 23 for residents to learn more about him and the police chief hiring process.
“While many residents are familiar with Deputy Chief Harding from his years of service to our city, I am looking forward to the town halls which will provide our community with the opportunity to engage with him as the finalist for the Police Chief role,” said Mayor Malik. “As a candidate for this important role and in his current role as Acting Chief, he has welcomed opportunities to meet with the community throughout this process. I believe this reflects his willingness to support more community-oriented policing here in Akron and demonstrates his commitment to Akron's residents."
Harding is a University of Akron graduate who has been a member of the city's police department since 1995. He was promoted to Deputy Chief in November 2021.
Harding and Lesser were named the two candidates after Malik's administration, initially intending to conduct a nationwide search, discovered that state and local laws dictate the city must fill management positions in its safety forces with internal candidates — a rule about which some residents shared concerns.
Malik said the city will seek a charter amendment in November to allow external searches in the future. Addressing the fact that the city's last two police chiefs (who were appointed by previous Mayor Dan Horrigan) were outside hires, Malik told residents at a town hall last week that he "cannot control how previous administrations interpreted the city charter."
If approved, Harding would officially replace former Chief Steve Mylett, who departed for a private sector job in January following a two-year tenure that was largely overshadowed by the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker and mass protests that followed.
The first town hall will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at John R Buchtel Community Learning Center. The second town hall will be on Tuesday, April 23 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at East CLC.