Screen shot of body-worn camera footage showing the seconds leading up to the Nov. 11, 2025, police shooting of a 36-year-old man in Ellet.
Screen shot of body-worn camera footage showing the moment an Akron police officer fired 15 rounds, striking a 36-year-old man in Ellet on Nov. 11, 2025.

An Ohio police officer fired his gun 15 times at a man the local mayor said was likely unarmed, shown on graphic body camera footage newly released as the officer's actions are under investigation.

The police shooting unfolded on Nov. 11 shortly after 9 p.m. in Akron, Ohio. The 36-year-old man was repeatedly struck by gunfire moments after the officer arrived on the scene and is in critical condition, reported the Akron Beacon Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

On Nov. 18, the Akron Police Department released footage from the body camera worn by the officer who fired his weapon and audio from a 911 call in which the caller reported the man was brandishing a gun in the parking lot of an Akron bar and pointing it inside.

"(I)t is our current understanding that he did not have a gun on his person at the time he encountered our officers, even though callers reported he was armed," Mayor Shammas Malik said in a statement. "I recognize how difficult and confusing this could be for many in our community, and I feel the weight of those concerns."

Authorities are investigating whether the man, who appeared to be White, had a gun at some point before the officer arrived, Malik said.

The shooting has prompted backlash from the man's family, who asked why the officer didn't de-escalate the situation before firing, local news outlets reported. According to Mapping Police Violence, which tracks deadly police encounters, over 1,000 people have been killed in police incidents in 2025. In 2024, at least 1,270 were killed – 93 of them unarmed. Last month, a former Illinois sheriff's deputy was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 shooting of Sonya Massey, who was unarmed.

The 911 caller in the newly released audio identified the man as Corey Phillips, and family members confirmed his identity to local news outlets including 3News and News 5 Cleveland.

"I can't conceptualize why they couldn't de-escalate the situation," Tessa King, the mother of Phillips' six children, told News 5.

What happened in the Nov. 11 shooting?

Police said the unidentified officer responded after multiple 911 calls about a man in the parking lot of Karam's Lounge and other businesses. They released audio from one of those calls, in which the caller said a man had a gun.

In total, the incident was about 20 seconds from the moment the officer stepped out of his cruiser to the second he opened fire. It took about two-and-a-half minutes for officers to make physical contact with the man; that’s when officers handcuffed him, searched him, removed his jacket and shirt and awaited aid.

Based on the available footage, it did not appear that officers recovered a firearm.

The officer who shot the man has four years of police service, with his last year in Akron, according to the Akron Police Department. He is now on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigation. Multiple agencies will investigate the shooting, including the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which will turn its findings over to the state's attorney general before submitting them to a grand jury for review.

What did the 911 caller say?

Identifying herself as a bartender at Karam's Lounge, the caller told a dispatcher that she locked the doors because a man was in the parking lot with a gun, aiming it through the windows.

"He tried to shoot, but it didn't shoot. I don't know if he has the safety on," the woman said. "He's pulling on the door."

She said the man was "acting very strange" and nodded off. He had one drink, she said.

"I asked him to leave, and he got flipping weird. He's still walking out there and saying, 'Yeah, I'm going back to prison tonight,'" she said

Interaction before shooting lasted about 20 seconds

The officer exited his cruiser at about 9:14 p.m. and pointed his firearm at a man in a zipped-up hooded jacket. The man held his right hand at his chest, resting it on the zipper and appeared to place his hand partially inside a pocket.

"Get your (expletive) hands out of your pocket!" the officer yelled. "Stop where you are. Get your hands out of your (expletive) pocket."

The man put his hands up.

"Get the (expletive) on the ground right now," the officer commanded. "You’re going to get shot. Get on the ground or you're gonna get shot."

The man leaned over but then stood back up and spoke. "Hey, don't yell at me, bro," the man said as he raised his right hand back up to his chest.

"Get out of your pockets," the officer said. "Hey, get out of your pockets."

Just as the officer finished that sentence, he opened fire, shooting 15 times in rapid succession. The man immediately staggered back, spun around and flailed before hitting the ground.

The officer radioed that shots were fired, and the suspect was down. While on the ground, the man groaned and yelled, "Oh, my God!" The man was out of the camera's view while the officer again instructed him to get his hands out of his pockets.

"You're going to get shot again," the officer said at one point.

More officers arrived on the scene. At 9:16 p.m., officers approached the man. The officer who opened fire asked about the gun.

"I never had a gun," the man said, lying on his back and groaning. "I never had a gun."

Officers rolled him over and handcuffed him. Searching for a gun, officers went through his pockets, but they did not appear to find a firearm. After unzipping his jacket and taking off his shirt, multiple gunshot wounds are seen on the man's chest and abdomen.

After the shooting, bullet casings littered the ground. A nearby fence had multiple bullet holes.

Reviews of shooting are underway, officials say

Police Chief Brian Harding thanked all Akron officers for their work, noting it was a difficult and dangerous job that involved “split-second decisions.”

“We have high standards in the Akron Police Department and that includes a belief that there is always room for improvement; always lessons to be learned, including in this incident,” Harding said in a prepared statement.

The police department is in the final weeks of their Integrating, Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (de-escalation) training, he said.

Malik, the mayor, said the city is undertaking a "comprehensive review" of the police department's use-of-force policies.

"We owe it to the community to understand what happened and to learn from it.  We can't control every factor in volatile, high-risk situations.  But we can control how we prepare our officers, how we train them, and how we equip them to de-escalate, make sound decisions under pressure and return home safely," Malik said.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Officer shot at a man 15 times, bodycam shows. Mayor says he was likely unarmed.

Reporting by Bryce Buyakie and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY NETWORK / Akron Beacon Journal

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