Jayland Walker

AKRON, Ohio — A 25-year-old Black man who was killed last week by police officers in Akron, Ohio, suffered more than 60 gunshot wounds but was unarmed at ...

The family’s lawyers also questioned the city’s release of only parts of the videos at the news conference and urged that it release all of the video. This, they said, would include footage from the eight officers involved directly in the shooting along with five others who were at the scene. One day after more than 100 demonstrators gathered just outside downtown, chanting and holding signs, protests continued with hundreds participating in a march and rally at City Hall organized by the Akron N.A.A.C.P. Mr. DiCello criticized how the police portrayed Mr. Walker in the news conference. The decision of whether to charge the officers involved with a crime will be determined by prosecutors, but charges have rarely been filed in similar cases of shootings involving the police. The chase was brief, and footage appears to show a number of officers pursuing Mr. Walker, weapons drawn, into a nearby parking lot while shouting at him. Seconds later, Mr. Walker, wearing a ski mask, exits the vehicle and begins to flee on foot. A few seconds later, the officers open fire, and Mr. Walker drops to the ground. In one video, a popping sound can be heard at one point, and an officer reports gunfire coming from the door of Mr. Walker’s car. At a news conference on Sunday, the police released body camera videos of the pursuit and shooting that showed officers’ actions but deepened many questions around his death, which remains under investigation. Mr. Walker’s girlfriend died recently in a car accident. A still photo released by the police showed a handgun on the seat, along with a gold ring.

Akron police said Jayland Walker refused to stop his car and fired at officers during a chase that ended in a hail of bullets and his death.

“I completely understand that some residents and guests will be disappointed by the decision to cancel the festival this holiday weekend," Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in a statement. Akron's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement Sunday the independent investigation will prove the actions, including the number of shots fired by the officers, were justified. "The question about whether anyone gets charged with a crime is: did they reasonably believe someone's life is in danger at that point?" Walker had been shot in the face, abdomen and upper legs, the report said, adding that a weapon was recovered from his vehicle. "It was difficult to watch, and shocking," Mylett said, adding that "I'm not going to pass judgment" until the investigation is completed. Police said Walker, a 25-year-old DoorDash driver, refused to stop his car and fired at officers during a chase. Mylett said the police response changed when they believed Walker was shooting. The chief said that when the shooting stopped the officers immediately attempted to provide care to Walker, but that he died at the scene. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said Walker died from multiple gunshot wounds and ruled it a homicide. “This wasn't self-defense, it wasn't an accident in the heat of the moment, it was murder. But he apparently was unarmed as he fled the car and ran from police, the chief said. Walker apparently exits the car in a ski mask, and Police Chief Stephen Mylett said it appeared that Walker reached toward his waist during a foot chase and briefly turned toward officers.

Jayland Walker suffered at least 60 wounds when Akron, Ohio, police officers fatally shot him during a pursuit last week, Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett ...

"We have developed an operations plan to manage and to provide safe space in this city for people to protest," Mylett said. He added that a traffic camera captured "what we believe to be a muzzle flash coming out of the car. The mayor acknowledged the rights of Akron residents to protest. "However, based on the video, I anticipate that number to be high," he said. "We want to be treated like human beings, you know, Black men, young men, they're afraid when it comes to police -- that shouldn't be," he said. "Each time I've watched the video, it's gotten worse for me," attorney Ken Abbarno said. Mylett said officers retrieved a shell casing near the scene of the attempted traffic stop that was "consistent with the firearm that Mr. Walker had in his vehicle. Bobby DiCello, another family lawyer, said Walker "had never broken the law a day in his life -- no crimes of any kind." And then the pursuit continued." In narrated body camera video, police said that about 40 seconds after Walker drove away from police, "a sound consistent with a gunshot can be heard on the body-worn cameras of the officers." After a car chase, Walker got out of his car and a foot chase took place, police said. City officials also played police body camera footage of the shooting for the first time Sunday, nearly a week after the fatal shooting.

Today, the Akron, Ohio, police department released body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was ...

In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. We call on cities and towns across the country to ban ‘low-level’ traffic stops by armed officers, as Philadelphia did last year, and for unarmed civilian responders to be used more broadly for traffic offenses. The video footage raises more questions than it answers about the conduct of the eight police officers who shot Mr. Walker approximately 60 times and have since been placed on administrative leave.

Jayland Walker was a standout wrestler at Buchtel High School. His former coach and teammates said he was a quiet, peaceful guy.

“He was a brother to me,” said Cox, 25. “I genuinely looked up to Jayland when I was younger. “I want people to know that Jayland was definitely not a violent person. But Cox said it doesn't make sense to him, either, that Walker fled from police. He would try his best to stop situations from happening and trying to make everybody happy.” "I used to see him every morning because he would smile at me," she said. He was one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever coached.” I wanted him to be a comedian. “I’d be surprised if he ever got a detention in school...he just wasn’t one of those kids that misbehaved or anything — and I’ve had some of those kids that have tested me. Walker never even had a tardy, she said. "He didn’t have like the strength that everybody else had.” "If you gave me a list of 100 kids that this would have happened to, he would have been 99th or 100th for me to guess.

Walker, 25, was killed 27 June and sustained more than 60 wounds as multiple officers shot at him, but footage was released Sunday.

A casing consistent with the weapon was later found in the area where officers say they believe a shot had come from Walker’s vehicle. Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented the families of Black victims of violence in numerous recent cases, called the incident horrifying. Legal Defense Fund’s president, Janai S Nelson, said: “The tragic killing of Jayland Walker once again underscores just how deeply dysfunctional and discriminatory America’s system of policing continues to be. We are just trying to live our lives, and we are tired of being hunted like prey.” The murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis policeman in 2020 helped fuel a global protest movement condemning racism. An attorney for Walker’s family said officers kept firing even after he was on the ground.

The city of Akron issued a downtown curfew as stunned residents and city leaders await the results of a state probe into Jayland Walker's death.

"If you did not come here to be peaceful and stand in solidarity, this is not the place for you." "The law requires the use of force that is reasonable," DiCello said. Mylett also released information, but not names, on the eight officers involved. The videos show officers converging on Walker's silver Buick sedan at the end of a chase. That changed the incident from a routine stop to a public safety issue, Mylett said. The shooting took place minutes after Walker apparently drove away from what Mylett said would have been a "routine traffic stop."