Biography
Brendan Eaton, approximately 20 years old at the time, was arrested during protests in Akron, Ohio on July 4, 2022 following the release of body camera footage showing the police killing of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot 46 times by Akron police on June 27, 2022. Eaton was among approximately 50 protesters arrested between midnight and 4 AM on July 4 as Akron police, equipped with body armor and backed by SWAT vehicles, fired tear gas and chemical irritants to disperse crowds. Eaton was charged with Riot (ORC 2917.03), Disorderly Conduct (ORC 2917.11), and Failure to Disperse (ORC 2917.04). Protesters were booked and held at Summit County Jail, with the facility setting up for mass intake and some detainees initially transported in large vans holding up to 15 people each. Those arrested were held at least through the following day on near-identical, copy-and-paste complaints in which virtually every arrest form contained the same two sentences claiming that the arrestees "took part in protest that turned to violent riot" and "failed to disperse when ordered to." The City of Akron subsequently pursued charges against protesters and put them through nearly a year of criminal litigation before all charges were either dropped or defendants were acquitted. Twenty-four of the arrested protesters filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Akron and the Akron Police Department alleging unlawful arrests, beatings, and the unjustified use of tear gas and pepper spray against peaceful demonstrators and bystanders. The city settled the lawsuit in 2024 for $747,000, with 22 of the 24 plaintiffs receiving payments — a de facto acknowledgment that the mass arrests were unlawful.