Donning a multi-colored curly clown wig, a Facebook post by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 on June 17 depicts at-large Akron City Councilman Eric Garrett in Akron City Hall with a fishing pole.
But the image is a fake, possibly created using artificial intelligence.
“Eric Garrett Loves Political Fishing Expeditions,” the caption and post reads. “Tell me you are ineffective as a councilman, without telling me.”
Garrett described the post at the June 22 Akron City Council meeting as a “racist meme” that aimed to bully and intimidate. It came, he said, after he sought answers in the wake of Lt. Mark Farrar being ordered to pay $12,421.31 to the city in restitution. Farrar had overcharged local businesses for secondary employment jobs, costing the city and those businesses thousands of dollars.
“My 26-year-old daughter had to show me this during the Juneteenth weekend. It’s pretty sad. It’s unfortunate. This is what we stooped to,” Garrett told Akron Beacon Journal news partner News 5. “This is completely a racist photo.”
It’s the latest salvo FOP President Brian Lucey has fired in his long-running feud with Garrett, which has seen the two men trade written and verbal blows.
But social media posts dating back to June 2025 show their public beef has become more contentious. First, in August, when Garrett was added to a virtual statewide “Hall of Shame” and again in January, when Lucey sparred over Garrett’s public records requests and inquiry into harassment allegations.
Garrett replied to requests for comment. Lucey did not respond to phone calls for comment.
Akron leaders speak out against FOP post, Lucey responds
Black Elected Officials of Summit County condemned the June 17 post, calling it a “derogatory meme” in a news release.
“We call for unity. Let us all set aside the name-calling and finger-pointing and instead choose dialogue,” President Tavia Galonski said in the news release. “Please stop circulating the meme of Councilman Eric Garrett.”
Speaking at City Council on June 22, Councilperson Fran Wilson said the post made them “deeply unsettled.” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said the “mockery of anyone” is unacceptable, noting people have First Amendment rights.
In response to this criticism, Lucey told News 5 that Garrett first brought the subject of race into the matter when he said most of Lucey’s use-of-force incidents involved Black men.
“That’s the councilman who now wants to suggest a picture poking fun at him is racist,” Lucey said. “So yes, we posted a picture poking fun at him. After a letter like that, he earned every bit of it. It has nothing to do with race, and the man pointing the finger knows exactly who made it about race. He signed the page.”
Public records, letters and a statewide ‘Hall of Shame’
This is not the first time the FOP has sparred with Garrett, who often focuses his keyboard on Malik and APD.
In August, the FOP shared a post from the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, which added Garrett to its Protect Ohio Police Hall of Shame for “undermining public safety.” He was the second person added to the website.
The post alleges Garrett was “fomenting distrust in local police after he disagreed” with a grand jury decision not to indict APD officers in the death of Michael Jones.
“Councilman Garrett is welcome to his opinion,” Lucey said in the post. “But he’s been a consistent voice undermining the important work of our police every chance he gets. That not only makes our officers less safe – it puts our families and communities at risk too.”
Lucey also described Garrett’s opposition to equipping officers with standard-issue rifles as “ignorant” and playing “politics with officers’ lives and community safety.”
Then in mid-January, after Garrett requested Lucey’s personnel file and disciplinary records, Lucey wrote that he had nothing to hide. Lucey then said Garret was on a “public records fishing expedition.” By the end of the month, Lucey fired off another Facebook post in response to another public records request, again saying Garrett was fishing.
Days later, Lucey wrote that “Garrett sent a very inappropriate email to the FOP 7 President’s city email address.”
In the letter, Garrett said he was looking into a citizen’s complaint that alleged Lucey had bullied and harassed her. The independent police auditor determined the allegations were unfounded and exonerated in a March report.
Garrett also wrote that Lucey engaged in “Barney Fife-like” tactics, and Lucey’s use of force history largely involved Black men. The union fired back, saying Garrett’s actions constituted bullying and harassment.
Months later, the FOP quoted Mark Twain before deriding Garrett for his comments following the June 7 Lane Park shooting.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt,” the post read, quoting Mark Twain before turning to Garrett. “Councilman Eric Garrett should read that quote every time he is about to post on social media.”
In the wake of the June 17 image, Garrett sent a letter to the city of Akron seeking clarity about APD rules for “disparaging, insensitive and culturally insensitive Facebook posts by its members, specifically, members of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP 7).”
Allowing this behavior further weakens the mission of the Akron Police Department and calls into question its leadership,” Garrett wrote. “With that understanding, I am asking why there appears to be no accountability and condemnation of this behavior.”
Public criticisms, fiery posts are not uncommon
Akron’s police union is not alone in how it opposes proposed police reforms and use-of-force changes. It’s also not alone in its sometimes fiery Facebook posts against public officials, which it has been doing for years.
Lucey and the Akron FOP backed Columbus-area FOP Capital City Lodge 9 President Brian Steel, who called the leader of the local NAACP chapter a “poverty pimp.” His comments sparked local outrage, but Steel’s words continued a longstanding conflict between the two men, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Like Ohio, the National Police Association also has a “Wall of Shame,” calling out public officials for alleged anti-police activities.
Why are Garrett and Lucey at odds?
The two men are often at odds, supporting opposite ends of the policing spectrum, but occasionally they align.
Garrett supports police reform and accountability, often criticizing the police department and the mayor, saying in a June 7 statement after a shooting at Lane Park that APD and the mayor did not prioritize public safety.
“This is a safety issue. Nothing more and nothing less. If police coverage, coordinated safety support, and youth engagement were needed at Lane Field, then your administration should have mandated it and made it a clear priority,” Garrett wrote about the mayor.
Lucey says he supports police reform that does not restrict how officers respond to potentially deadly situations. In FOP Facebook posts, the union points to fatal shootings as evidence that the city, Garrett and the mayor are focused on the wrong issues.
“While the mayor and his administration continue to tie the hands of the police force, gun violence continues to plague the city,” a May 24 FOP post reads, citing the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Nathan Hubbard.
Despite their differences, both men are critical of the Malik administration and expressed concerns about the recent Police Executive Research Forum use-of-force policy review, according to Facebook posts and official statements. Both also write about their public safety concerns.
Bryce Buyakie is an Akron-based reporter who covers the courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Facebook post deepens feud between Akron councilman, FOP Lodge #7
Reporting by Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
