Publication date: Jul 3, 2022 • 42 min ago • 3 min read • 34 comments This image taken from an officer’s body camera and provided by the Akron Police Department on July 3, 2022, shows police surrounding the vehicle of 25-year-old Jayland Walker during during a traffic stop in Akron, Ohio, on June 27, 2022. Photo by Akron Police Department /AFP via Getty Images
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AKRON, Ohio — A black man was unarmed when Akron police chased him on foot and killed him in a hail of gunfire, but officers believed he had fired at them earlier from a vehicle and feared he was preparing to shoot again, authorities said on Sunday at the press conference.
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Akron police have released video of the killing of Jayland Walker, 25, who was killed in a pursuit that began with an attempted traffic stop. The mayor called the shooting “heartbreaking” while asking for peace and patience from the community. It’s unclear how many shots were fired by the eight officers involved in the shooting, but Walker suffered more than 60 wounds. A lawyer for Walker’s family said the officers continued to fire even while he was on the ground. Officers tried to stop Walker’s car early Monday for unspecified traffic and equipment violations, but less than a minute into the chase, a gunshot rang out from the car and a department of transportation camera captured what appeared to be a flash in the mouth coming from the vehicle, Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said. That changed the nature of the case from “a routine traffic stop to now a public safety issue,” he said. Police body camera footage from the nighttime standoff shows the minutes that followed. Several shouting officers with guns drawn approach the slowing car on foot as it rolls over a curb and onto a sidewalk. A person wearing a ski mask exits the passenger door and runs into a parking lot. The police chase him for about 10 seconds before the officers open fire from multiple directions in a burst of gunfire that lasts 6 or 7 seconds.
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We apologize, but this video failed to load. At least one officer had first tried to use a stun gun, but that was unsuccessful, police said. Mylett said Walker’s actions are hard to make out in real-time video, but one still photo appears to show him “going down to his waist area” and another appears to show him turning toward an officer. He said a third photo “captures a forward motion of his hand.” Officers split up on the scene afterward and each indicated a belief that Walker had moved into a shooting position, Mylett said. The video released by police ends with the officers being shot and does not show what happened in the moments that followed. Mylett said an officer who shoots someone must be “prepared to explain why they did what they did, they must be able to articulate what specific threats they faced … and they must be held accountable.” But he said he was withholding judgment on their actions until they gave their statements and said the union president told him they were all “fully cooperating” with the investigation.
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Police said more than 60 wounds were found on Walker’s body, but further investigation is needed to determine exactly how many rounds officers fired and how many times Walker was hit. Officers rendered aid and one person could be heard saying he still had a pulse but was pronounced dead, Mylett said. A handgun, a loaded magazine and what appeared to be a wedding ring were found in the car seat. A casing consistent with the gun was later found in the area where officers believed a shot had come from the vehicle. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost promised a “full, fair and expert investigation” and warned that “body-worn camera equipment is only one view of the whole picture.” The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, which is standard practice in such cases.
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Protesters marched through the city and gathered in front of the Akron Judicial Center after the video was released. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that Walker’s death was not self-defense, but “was murder. Point blank.” Walker’s family is asking for accountability as well as peace, their lawyers said. One of the lawyers, Bobby DiCello, called the rash of police shootings excessive and senseless and said police handcuffed Walker before he tried to administer first aid. “How I got to this with a chase is beyond me,” DiCello said. He said Walker’s family doesn’t know why he ran from police. Walker was grieving the recent death of his fiancée, but his family had no indication of concern beyond that, and he was not a criminal, DiCello said. “I hope we remember that as Jayland ran into that parking lot, he was unarmed,” DiCello said. He said he does not know if the gold ring found near the gun in the car belonged to Walker.
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