Mayor Dan Horrigan Announces Planned Retirement of Akron Police Chief Ken Ball in Early 2021
City of Akron Press Release
From the desk of Ellen Lander Nischt
Published: 11-05-2020
Akron, Ohio, November 5, 2020—Today, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron Police Chief Kenneth R. Ball II jointly announced Ball’s retirement from the Akron Police Department, effective February 5, 2021. Ball joined the Department in July 1991 and was promoted to Chief of Police in December 2017. As Chief of the Akron Police Department, Ball commands the Department’s 457 officers and supervisors, 51 Reserve officers and 109 civilians (including dispatch personnel) that serve Akron’s nearly 200,000 citizens.
“Ken Ball was uniquely qualified to assume the role of Akron’s Chief of Police, and I am grateful that he chose to step up and lead this Department during a pivotal period,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said. “Ken has served this City and the Akron Police Department with distinction and honor for nearly 30 years, and his retirement is well earned. During his time in leadership, the City revived the Akron Police Academy, innovated recruitment and hiring procedures, and seized record numbers of illegal guns off our streets. On a personal level, I know Ken to be a dedicated husband, father, and community member who genuinely cares about doing what is right, and I wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Akron for the past 29 years,” Chief Ken Ball said. “I am extremely proud to have been a member of the Akron Police Department. Through the course of my career I was privileged to have worked with many incredible people at all levels of the organization. I also was blessed to have been involved with so many others whose work or passion connected them to our city and to APD. Sharing the successes of the Department with former and current employees (sworn and civilian) will leave me with great satisfaction and much hope.”
Ken Ball advanced through the ranks during this 29-year career with the Department. He worked in each of the department’s three Sub-Divisions either as an officer or as a supervisor. Prior to serving as the Chief of Police, Ball was sworn in as Provisional Chief of Police of the Akron Police Department on August 27, 2017. He had served as the Deputy Chief of the Investigative Sub-Division since March 2015. Prior to that, serving as a Captain, he was a shift commander on Platoon 1, the 10:30PM-7AM shift, and Platoon 2, the 6:30AM-3PM shift.
Chief Ball is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy, the Police Executive Leadership College and Leadership Akron Class 32. As Chief, he also oversees the staff in the Safety Communications Division.
“Chief Ball demonstrated his commitment to serve the citizens of Akron and the members of the Police Department on a daily basis for nearly three decades,” Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Charles Brown added. “To set expectations, he shared his vision with the leadership team and attended roll call meetings often to speak directly to the officers doing the important work of protecting and serving. Chief Ball was the driver behind the Department’s research, testing and deployment of body worn camera technology, which increased transparency and accountability. His forward thinking put the Department on the path of success. I wish him the best in his retirement.”
To replace Ken Ball, Mayor Horrigan will be conducting a national search for a new Chief of the Akron Police Department. Qualifying candidates with the Akron Police Department will be eligible to apply. An official job description will be posted in the coming weeks, and the City expects the selection process to be complete by early 2021.
“While Akron is home to strong neighborhoods and growing community resources, like most cities, we also face entrenched challenges related to cycles of crime, poverty and lack of opportunity,” Mayor Horrigan added. “As law enforcement officers, the members of the Akron Police Department and their leaders are called upon to be community servants with an unyielding commitment to fairness, justice, and consistent organizational betterment.”
“I look forward to recruiting and hiring our next Chief of Police—someone who deeply values community engagement and who will build upon APD’s tradition of innovative and transparent service aimed at reducing violence, crime, and fear,” Mayor Horrigan continued. “Akron’s next Police Chief will lead the dedicated men and women of the Department as our city collaboratively explores creative solutions to preventing crime and improving police-community relations, through efforts that include our Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce.”
For further information, contact:
Ellen Lander Nischt
Press Secretary
Phone: 330-375-2325
E-mail: [email protected]
