AKRON POLICE RELEASE SHOOTING VIDEO
Police on Sunday released body-camera footage showing officers firing dozens of rounds at a Black man who left his car while fleeing a traffic stop one week ago, a killing that has sparked outrage, investigations and demands for accountability.
Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett said he did not know the exact number of rounds fired at Jayland Walker, 25. But, Mylett added, the medical examiner’s report indicates more than 60 wounds on Walker’s body.
The police chief described the footage, which was blurred to obscure Walker, as “difficult to watch” and “shocking.” He said he would reserve judgment until hearing from the officers involved. Evidence indicates that Walker had fired a gun during the car chase, Mylett said.
“When an officer makes the most critical decision in his or her life as a police officer, when they fire an arm at another human being, they have to be ready to explain why they did what they did they need to be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing,” he said. “And that goes for every round that goes down the barrel of their gun. And they need to be held to account.”
Eight officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of probes by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Akron Police Office of Professional Standards and Accountability.
Police tried to stop Walker’s Buick about 12:30 a.m. June 27 for investigation of an unspecified traffic violation and chased him when he did not pull over, the Akron Police Department said. Shortly after an officer said he heard a gunshot come from the Buick, Walker jumped out of the car and ran into a parking lot, with officers following — and eventually firing.
Walker was pronounced dead in the parking lot. Among the images police displayed Sunday were those of a gun that they said they found in his car, beside a loaded magazine.
An attorney for his family, Bobby DiCello, told The Washington Post over the weekend that eight officers fired more than 90 rounds at Walker, with more than 60 striking him.
“It was absolutely excessive,” the attorney said during a news conference after the video’s release.
DiCello noted that footage after the shooting wasn’t shown in the presentation. He said shots continued after Walker was on the ground.
“We know that they then handcuff him and roll him on his back and then they begin to apply some sort of attempt at lifesaving mea— sures, which after 60-plus wounds and 90-plus bullets makes for a hopeless cause,” DiCello said.
“The way the law required, indeed, the way we are all required to look at this is through the eyes of a reasonable police officer as it’s happening,” DiCello said. “I ask you, as he’s running away, what is reasonable? To gun him down? No, that’s not reasonable.”
Ken Abbarno, another attorney for the Walker family, said Walker should be remembered for “his smile, who he was, how he interacted with his family.”
The body-camera footage shown at the presentation Sunday was a video from the first officer who was involved in the pursuit. After the presentation, Akron police released body-camera footage from 13 officers involved — eight who fired and five “witness officers,” according to Lt. Michael Miller, a spokesperson.
Of the eight officers who fired, seven were White and one was Black, according to data the police department gave to news media. None of the officers had received disciplinary action or substantiated complaints, and this was the first fatal shooting for each.
On Sunday, Mayor Daniel Horrigan urged Akron residents to be patient and reserve their judgment until the investigation is complete.
He touted the city’s measures for transparency and accountability, citing the independent investigation through the BCI and a law enacted a year ago that requires the release of video footage within seven days after Akron police use force that is deadly or that results in serious bodily injury.