Bodycam video released of police shooting boy, 15, who had toy gun

The Akron officer was seen trying to put a handcuff around the boy’s bleeding wrist

A teenage boy reportedly holding a toy gun was heard screaming “It’s fake” over and over, after being shot in the hand by an Ohio police officer, whose bodycam footage has now been released.

Ryan Westlake, an Akron Police Department officer, was responding to a 911 call from a resident who reported seeing a male pointing a gun at homes on 1 April.

Footage released on Monday from Officer Westlake’s bodyworn camera showed him arriving on the scene on Brittain Road in his unmarked police vehicle.

“Can I see your hands real quick?” the officer was heard asking Tavion Koonce-Williams, who was holding the apparent firearm, which he raised above his head in response to the officer’s request.

Less than three seconds after asking to see the teenager’s hands, the officer’s gun was discharged. The officer appeared to be surprised by the firearm going off, shouting “Oh, s**t”

The 15-year-old then began screaming that the gun he was holding was fake, as blood began to pour from his wrist.

Officer Westlake, 33, started to put handcuffs on the boy, over the wound, as other officers arrived.

Officer Westlake’s camera footage shows the teen on the ground, with blood pouring from the gunshot wound on his wrist (Akron Police Department)

“It’s a fake gun, I promise,” Mr Koonce-Williams was heard saying once again, as police began applying a tourniquet to his arm.

“It’s my hand. Please, officer, I’m a good kid. Bro, I get A’s in school. I play football. I just wanted to be safe. My cousin just died,” the boy was heard saying, explaining that he had just come from his cousin’s funeral.

The footage then shows the officer being led away, while the boy was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.

APD also released the officer’s personnel file on Monday, which showed a number of disciplinary actions over his nine-year career, “one of which has been deemed unreasonable”.

Some of the behaviour included using an anti-gay slur and brandishing his firearm towards his girlfriend in 2021, which led to his suspension.

After Officer Westlake appealed that, the mayor at the time, Daniel Horrigan, terminated his employment on 20 July. That decision was rescinded the following day after an agreement was reached.

He was suspended for a couple of days in June 2022 over a use-of-force incident just a month after he had returned to work in November 2021.

“In an effort to be as transparent as possible, we are releasing both the body camera footage showing the officer’s entire interaction with the adolescent who was shot, and the officer’s personnel file,” Mayor Shammas Malik said in a press release.

“We will continue to be transparent and communicative as the process unfolds.”

Officer Ryan Westlake’s body-worn camera footage shows him shooting a 15-year-old boy who had a toy gun on April 1 2024 (Akron Police Department)

Officer Westlake has been placed on paid administrative leave, while the Ohio Bureau of Investigations is investigating the incident.

Attorneys representing the 15-year-old said he was just doing everything he could be be safe.

“Tavion is an East High School student with a promising future and is now grappling with the trauma of being profiled and having his life flash before his eyes after being shot,” attorney Imokhai Okolo said in a statement.

“Tavion now finds himself in the lineage of Black youth being profiled and shot by the Akron Police Department with absolutely no justification or regard for human life.”

The officer’s union, however, disagrees with the decision to pull him from active duty.

“The officer involved acted within policy and procedure and according to his training,” the Fraternal Order of Police, Akron Lodge 7, said on Facebook.

“Immediately after being faced with a split-second decision to use deadly force, he and other officers began rendering medical treatment.”

The union argued that police officers do not have the luxury of being able to “play Monday morning quarterback”, meaning to have the gift of hindsight, while making “split second life or death” decisions.

Tavion’s attorneys, however, argue that the system needs to change, “for the dignity and humanity of Black bodies in Akron”.