(Facebook)
AKRON, Ohio (Tribune News Service) — An Akron police officer acquitted of theft charges related to his service in the Ohio National Guard has sued the city, arguing that his prosecution came in retaliation for reporting racial discrimination in the police department.
Deandre Holland accused the department in a lawsuit of launching a criminal investigation only after he reported a supervisor for treating Black officers worse than white ones.
A judge presiding over his criminal trial last year acquitted Holland of felony charges of theft in office, tampering with records and forgery.
The trial lasted one day in Summit County Common Pleas Court before Visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove tossed out the charges for lack of evidence.
Holland’s lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in federal court in Akron by attorney Peter Pattakos, accused two supervisors and the city of discrimination, retaliation and wrongful prosecution.
Akron’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Marsh, and the police department’s spokesman, Capt. Michael Miller, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Holland was hired by Akron police in 2018. For two years, he took part in intermittent training required by the National Guard so he could maintain his eligibility to train as an Army pilot, the lawsuit said. Holland had no trouble getting permission.
Deandre Holland was one of 14 new police officers sworn in on May 4, 2018, by the Akron Police Department. (Facebook)
In August 2020, he complained to a union official about a supervisor, Lt. Richard Kuznik, mistreating Black officers, the lawsuit said.
Four months later, Kuznik launched a criminal investigation into the forms Holland filled out, claiming that he forged them and never showed up for his National Guard training.
Investigators pushed for criminal charges, despite knowing Holland committed no crime, according to the lawsuit.
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