Citizens Police Oversight Board Hosting Town Hall to Introduce Police Auditor Candidate
Akron, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2024 — Today, the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board is announcing a community town hall to be hosted at Ellet CLC (309 Woolf Ave.) auditorium next Wednesday, February 14 from 6-7:30pm. The town hall will give the community an opportunity to meet Anthony Finnell, the final candidate for the Police Auditor position.
“We are excited to engage with Akron residents on the Police Auditor search and give our community a chance to meet and question a candidate for the role,” said Kemp Boyd, Chair of the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board. “Tony Finnell has 30 years of experience in law enforcement and also has experience consulting for other civilian oversight boards which makes him particularly fit for this role. We want to give everyone the opportunity to meet Tony, ask him questions, and ask the Board questions. Our community’s input will help us determine next steps for the role.”
The town hall will allow for live Q&A and will also have a survey available for the community to provide feedback.
Anthony Finnell has over 30 years of experience in all phases of law enforcement, public safety, oversight of law enforcement practices, investigations, police practices review and development of policies and procedures for government entities. His training is extensive and covers areas of criminal homicide investigation, community policing, interviewing, problem solving and use of force. Finnell’s community engagement experience includes field supervision within the Community Affairs Branch for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), extensive work with managing civilian led community oversight boards and commissions for law enforcement and developing a community engagement plan for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Public Safety for the City of Seattle, WA.
In April 2020, Finnell began to provide consulting services. His area of expertise is with police practices, civilian oversight of law enforcement training, and case review for municipal oversight entities, educational institutions, community organizations and law firms. In April 2021, he was selected to become a member of the Law Enforcement subcommittee for the Justice Counts Initiative – a multi-year, Bureau of Justice Assistance-funded initiative designed to help states make criminal justice data more accessible and usable for policymakers. Each issue-specific subcommittee was charged with designing, refining, and drafting criminal justice data metrics for consideration and final approval by the national steering committee.
Mr. Finnell has served on the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Board of Directors since 2016. Mr. Finnell has served as the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee (2016-2017), the Chair of the Elections and Bylaws Committee (2018-2021) and the Co-Chair of the Internal Operations Committee (2021-2023). Mr. Finnell has also served as the Treasurer and the Vice President for NACOLE. Currently, Mr. Finnell serves as the President of NACOLE.