Akron officer who shot teen nearly lost job after he's accused in 2 violent incidents

An Akron police officer who is under scrutiny for shooting a teen earlier this month was accused in two violent, drunken incidents with his girlfriend that nearly cost him his job.

In December 2020, officer Ryan Westlake’s girlfriend told Fort Lauderdale police she hit her head when Westlake threw her into a coffee table, which broke from the impact, according to a police report.

She told Florida police that Westlake then pinned her arms to the ground under his legs and struck her.

She declined to press charges.

A few weeks later at Westlake’s Cuyahoga Falls apartment, his girlfriend told police that Westlake pushed her to the ground and hit her in the right eye, causing a visible injury.

She said Westlake also pointed a gun at her head and threatened to kill her and her father, according to information in Westlake’s personnel file.

This time, Westlake was charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing, both misdemeanors. Those charges were later dismissed and expunged from court records after the girlfriend again declined to cooperate.

The Beacon Journal isn’t naming Westlake’s girlfriend because she was an alleged victim. The 24-year-old woman didn’t return several messages seeking comment this week.

While Westlake faced no criminal penalties for either incident, former Mayor Dan Horrigan highlighted the incidents in a letter on July 20, 2021, that terminated Westlake’s employment. Horrigan said Westlake wasn’t “fit” to be an Akron officer.

More: Akron police officer who shot 15-year-old April 1 was fired, reinstated in 2021

One day later, after a deal was reached between the Akron police union and city leaders, Westlake was reinstated and instead suspended for 71 days.

The incidents involving Westlake and his girlfriend, as well as numerous disciplinary actions against him during his nine years with the Akron Police Department, have some in the community questioning why Westlake was still on the job April 1 when he shot Tavion Koonce-Williams. The bullet struck the 15-year-old's hand that was holding a fake gun.

Westlake, whose body camera footage shows the shooting, was responding to a non-emergency call about a male pointing a gun at homes in the Goodyear Heights neighborhood. Westlake pulled up alongside Tavion on Brittain Road, asked the teen to show his hands and then, within seconds, fired a single shot that struck the teen’s hand.

“There’s no reason this officer should have been on the department,” Imokhai Okolo, an attorney for Tavion’s family, said in a press conference last Friday. “It makes no sense.”

Shooting is subject of several investigations

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) is investigating the teen’s shooting.

After BCI concludes its investigation, the case will be turned over to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for review before being submitted to a Summit County grand jury to determine if charges against the officer are warranted.

A separate internal investigation also will be done by the Akron Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards and Accountability.

This is the same process that was used to investigate the police shooting of Jayland Walker, which resulted in the eight officers involved not being charged. The internal police investigation also found that the officers had not violated any policies or procedures.

After the internal investigation of the teen’s shooting concludes, the Akron Citizen’s Police Oversight Board will begin its review, led by Anthony Finnell, the newly appointed police auditor.

“The young man was not killed, but it’s still tragic,” Finnell said this week. “It’s serious, and we want to get it right. I’m taking my time with it and letting the process work itself out.”

Westlake, 33, is currently on paid administrative leave, which is the department’s policy after an officer-involved shooting. He did not respond to a request for comment this week made through the Akron police union.

The Akron police union has predicted the shooting will be found to be justified. The union also said Westlake’s past issues have nothing to do with the teen’s shooting.

Westlake isn't charged after Florida incident involving girlfriend

The fight between Westlake and his girlfriend in Florida happened on Dec. 4, 2020, at a Hilton Hotel.

Police were called to the hotel at 4:42 a.m. and talked to Westlake’s girlfriend in an office near the lobby.

She told police she had been out drinking in the bars and returned to her room without Westlake. She said he returned an hour after her, and she yelled at him for being out so late, according to a police report.

She said Westlake fell and she fell, striking her head on a table that broke. She said Westlake sat on her and held her arms at her sides.

She declined to be transported to the hospital and said she didn’t want to press charges. She refused to check into another hotel room and insisted on returning to her room, according to the report.

Police said Westlake and his girlfriend weren’t living together and didn’t have children together, so this incident didn’t meet the criteria for domestic violence, according to the report.

The Fort Lauderdale police weren’t able to find Westlake to talk to him, according to the report.

Westlake’s supervisors in the Akron Police Department didn’t become aware of this incident until Westlake was arrested after another incident a few weeks later.

Westlake is arrested in Cuyahoga Falls after second incident

The second incident happened Jan. 9, 2021, at Westlake’s apartment in Cuyahoga Falls after he and his girlfriend went out with friends to celebrate his birthday.

She told police that she and Westlake were living together. She said they got into an argument and he began pushing her and he told her she needed to leave, according to a report by the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability (OPSA), the internal investigation arm of the Akron Police Department.

She said she went to the bathroom to get her things and Westlake punched her in the right eye with a closed fist. She said he kept pushing her and she called her father to pick her up, according to the report.

She said Westlake pulled out a gun and told her he would hurt her, her father and whoever else came to the door.

When an officer asked if Westlake said he would hurt or kill them, she said he used the term “kill.” She said he pointed the gun at her head from a few feet away. She went to her car and waited for her father to arrive, according to the report.

Westlake’s girlfriend texted a friend about the incident, saying, “Tonight Ryan punched me in the face and pointed a gun at my head.”

Reached by phone, her friend declined to comment.

Westlake was arrested the next day and charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing, both first-degree misdemeanors.

The charges were dismissed on Feb. 17 at the request of Westlake’s girlfriend, according to the OPSA report.

The case against Westlake was expunged, with no reference to it appearing on the Stow Municipal Court website.

Jordan Knabb, a Kent attorney who represented Westlake in this case, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Janet Ciotola, the Cuyahoga Falls law director, said Tuesday that she couldn’t discuss this case because it no longer exists.

Asked how her department handles domestic violence cases in which the victim declines to participate, Ciotola said prosecutors and police confer and examine all the evidence.

“If they can proceed without the victim’s cooperation, they do go forward,” she said.

Leanne Graham, who heads Victim Assistance, said domestic violence victims may decide against proceeding with a criminal case for numerous reasons, including concern about financial issues, separating families, and how the community would look at the person abusing them.

“They love them,” Graham said. “They think what life would be without them.”

Westlake gives his side in internal investigation

After Westlake was arrested for the incident involving his girlfriend in Cuyahoga Falls, he was placed on paid administrative leave, and Akron's OPSA began an investigation.

Investigators gathered information from police in Florida and locally and attempted to talk to Westlake’s girlfriend. Through her attorney, she declined to speak to investigators.

Westlake told OPSA investigators he had been dating his girlfriend since 2019. He said she frequently stayed the night but wasn’t living with him, according to an OPSA report.

Westlake said the two of them got into an argument in Fort Lauderdale over him talking to another girl. He said she punched him in the face and he pushed her and she fell.

Westlake said she called the hotel staff and claimed he beat her up. He said he left the hotel and got another room for the night, according to the report.

Westlake told investigators he had a panic attack and didn’t feel like talking to the Fort Lauderdale police. He said he couldn’t recall if any furniture was broken during their fight.

In the Cuyahoga Falls incident a few weeks later, Westlake said he and his girlfriend got into an argument and he told her that she needed to leave. He said he tried to escort her from the apartment. He said she called her father and told him Westlake had been hitting her and asked him to pick her up, according to the OPSA report.

Westlake said he got his personal firearm from the nightstand because he was having a panic attack. He said he put the gun in his waistband and continued trying to force his girlfriend out of the apartment. He said she left and her father picked her up, according to the report.

Westlake said he was “heavily” intoxicated that night. He said he may have bumped his girlfriend’s right eye during their scuffle. He said he didn’t point his gun at her in a threatening manner but had the gun in his hand when he pointed at her to leave.

Westlake said he got the gun because he was concerned about a possible confrontation with her father.

When investigators asked Westlake if he had a problem with alcohol, he said he isn’t an alcoholic but “makes poor decisions after drinking heavily.” He said he was “open to whatever help that would prevent a situation like this from happening again.” He said he also may have “anger management issues.”

Westlake is fired, then reinstated, then suspended

Akron's OPSA investigation found that although Westlake wasn’t convicted of any crimes stemming from the two incidents, he admitted in his interview to actions consistent with having weapons while intoxicated and aggravated menacing.

Investigators also concluded he violated rules that require officers to obey all laws, not participate in activities that impair their ability to perform their duties or that cause the department to “be brought into disrepute,” and avoid conduct unbecoming of an officer.

The investigators noted that Westlake in both incidents chose to avoid the police agencies that were investigating.

In Ohio, officers lose their right to be an officer when they are convicted of a felony or plead guilty to a misdemeanor and the plea agreement includes a requirement that they surrender their police officer certificate.

On July 20, 2021, former Mayor Horrigan wrote a letter that terminated Westlake’s employment.

“I have reviewed the file, which included numerous police reports and records from other police departments, victim statements, internal interviews and statements of Westlake,” Horrigan said. “Westlake is not fit to be an Akron police officer.”

The next day, city leaders agreed to reinstate Westlake and instead suspend him for 71 days.

Westlake’s suspension concluded on Oct. 28, 2021.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj. 

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Alleged violent, drunken incidents nearly cost Akron officer his job