Matt Bush, FISM News
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Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old black man, was shot more than 60 times by police in Akron last week. The bodycam video of that encounter was released Sunday.
Walker was running from police following a short car chase. During that car chase, a shot was discharged from a firearm inside Walker’s car.
The graphic video, which can be seen here, shows a failed attempt by Akron officers to stop Walker with a stun device. As he continued to run from police as many as eight officers fired more than 60 shots into the body of Jayland Walker. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Akron police chief Steve Mylett said that officers attempted to stop Walker’s car for unspecified traffic and equipment violations, indicating that officers believed it to be a routine traffic stop at the start. Less than a minute into the pursuit of Walker’s car, however, a shot was heard and a muzzle flash was seen coming from his vehicle. The muzzle flash can be seen on a transportation department camera.
Chief Mylett said that the gunshot changed the nature of the case from “a routine traffic stop to now a public safety issue.”
A few minutes after police began their pursuit of Walker’s car, he slowed down and emerged from the still-moving vehicle wearing a ski mask. He fled on foot just minutes from the University of Akron’s main campus. Bodycam footage shows Walker running towards a nearby parking lot, where he was fatally shot.
The bodycam video released by the Akron police includes footage from the “body-worn cameras” of 13 officers who were on the scene. Officers attempted to use stun devices. They told Walker not to move and yelled for him to show his hands. Police narration of the video says Walker “stopped and quickly turned to the pursuing officers. Officers reacted by discharging their firearms, striking the subject.”
News organizations reporting this story use the word “unarmed” to describe Jayland Walker at the time he was shot, but the reality of the situation is not that simple. Walker was unarmed at the moment he was shot, but the video released by the Akron police, along with evidence collected after the shooting, shows that Walker did have a gun with him during the car chase and that weapon was discharged as Walker entered the highway.
According to Fox News, “A handgun, a loaded magazine, and a wedding ring were found on the seat and a casing consistent with the weapon was later found at the point where officers believed a shot came from the vehicle.”
Walker’s shooting has sparked outrage from some in the Akron community, and the release of the video footage only added to that outrage. The video is graphic and shows dozens of shots fired, striking a fleeing suspect. However, the number of shots, according to an NPR article, were in line with police protocol. Lance LoRusso, a lawyer who specializes in use-of-force cases, said, “Officers are trained to shoot until the threat they perceive, and or reasonably believe is present, has ended.” The officers perceived a threat after Walker discharged his handgun, and they shot until that threat was ended.
On Sunday night, people gathered in the streets of downtown Akron to protest the shooting and those protests have made their way into other cities as well. Shortly after the video footage was released, police were shown deploying tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters who had gathered around the Akron police station. Protesters chanted insults at the police along with cries of “Black Lives Matter.”
Black Lives Matter, for their part, also tweeted about the situation:
They shot him 60 times.
They shot him 60 times.
They shot him 60 times.
They shot him 60 times.
They shot him 60 times.
He was murdered by Akron police.
Say his name. #JaylandWalker— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) July 1, 2022
Despite the high emotions, the family of Jayland Walker is asking for peace. A relative of Jayland Walker and pastor of a local church, Robert Dejournett, spoke for the family. Dejournett said, “We’re God-fearing folk who believe in God, and we want to exemplify that even in this process. We don’t want any rioting or anything like that.”
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said, “Walker’s death was murder. Point blank,” while the President of the Akron NAACP said, “We are done dying. We will not rest until there is full accountability and prosecution for this senseless murder. This seething hatred, fear, and hunting down of Black men in our communities at the hands of police must end.”
All of the officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and the Ohio attorney general’s office will investigate the shooting.