Akron City Council completes Police Oversight Board appointments with ninth confirmation
Akron City Council seated the ninth member of the Issue 10-mandated Citizens' Police Oversight Board Thursday afternoon, concluding an appointment process that was to have wrapped up one month ago.
Brandyn Costa, a real estate attorney with Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs LLC, was nominated and confirmed at Thursday's special meeting by a vote of 12-0. Ward 4 Councilman Russ Neal abstained from voting.
The board will have its first meeting Friday at 2 p.m. in the City Council's chambers at 166 S. High St.
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"Brandyn will be a really good addition to the Police Oversight Board; I know he's involved with the community and I appreciate his background as a lawyer and the analytical skills that he will bring to the review board," said Ward 8 Counciman Shammas Malik.
Costa was one of 21 new applicants for the final seat on the Police Oversight Board, according to Council Chief of Staff Joan Williams. City Council reopened the application process last week following a stalemate among council members over approving one of the six nominees who were put forward by City Council. The other five, plus three nominated by Mayor Dan Horrigan in accordance with Issue 10's guidelines, all had been approved before Thursday.
Costa received his bachelor's degree in political science in 2015 from the University of Akron, where he also obtained a master's in business administration in 2020 and juris doctorate in 2021. He did not attend Thursday's special meeting and could not immediately be reached for comment after his confirmation.
Costa joins a Police Oversight Board that already includes Beverly Richards, Tristan Reed, Shawn Peoples, Donzella Anuszkiewicz, Kemp Boyd, Caitlin Castle, Diane Lewis and Robert Gippin.
Candidates had until noon Wednesday to apply for the final vacant seat on the board. The 112 applicants who previously applied for the board were also considered for the vacancy.
Council members had been divided over the confirmation of one of the nominees, Imokhai Okolo, a 27-year-old Black attorney, causing them to miss the Feb. 27 deadline to seat the board. A social media post by Okolo criticizing Akron police soon after Jayland Walker's shooting in June 2022 was cited by several members of the Council, which failed to reach the nine-vote supermajority required to confirm him.
Okolo's supporters argued his inclusion as a young Black attorney would help the city achieve a balance of diversity and professional expertise prescribed by Issue 10. Upon reopening the applications for the Police Oversight Board, the city said extra consideration would be given to Black males between the ages of 18 and 35.
Costa, who also is Black, helps the Council to ensure that a crucial segment of the community is represented on a board that will review police use-of-force incidents.
"It's definitely important to have a young Black man and his perspective on the board, it will only benefit and add to the diverse makeup of this police review board. The process to seat the board took longer than expected, and if we couldn't seat Okolo, I'm glad that it was Costa that was confirmed," Malik said.
Friday's Oversight Board meeting, which will feature an election of board officers, is open to the public.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter, @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron City Council appoints final member of police oversight board
