On June 27, Jayland Walker, 25, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot by Akron, Ohio, police officers during a vehicle and foot chase.
After a medical examiner determined that Walker had sustained at least 60 bullet wounds, he became the latest “victim” of police brutality, and protests quickly erupted.
The shooting occurred after officers attempted to stop him for unspecified traffic and equipment violations.
The Akron Police Department released officer body camera footage from the incident at a Sunday evening news conference — and it changed the earlier narrative substantially.
As previously reported, Walker was unarmed when he was shot by the police. However, police reported that a shot was fired from Walker’s car about 40 seconds into the pursuit.
A muzzle flash from a gun can be spotted on surveillance video, and the sound of a gunshot can be heard on the officer’s bodycam footage.
This new evidence supports the police account of the incident.
Rather than firing at an unarmed black man with no provocation, officers were responding to the gunshot that had come from inside Walker’s vehicle. Needless to say, the situation quickly escalated from there.
The news conference began with the APD’s account of the incident and the release of the bodycam video. The report said, at 12:30 a.m. on June 27, police officers attempted to stop Walker’s vehicle for a traffic violation and an equipment violation. Walker refused to stop and officers pursued his vehicle.
Did police act inappropriately in this shooting?
Yes: 29% (10 Votes)
No: 71% (24 Votes)
“Approximately 40 seconds after the driver of the vehicle fled from the attempted stop, a sound consistent with a gunshot can be heard on the body-worn cameras of the officers. The officers notified dispatch that a shot came out of the suspect’s car door.”
The first video is played. The narrator says, “At the time of the sound, a flash of light can be seen on the driver’s side of the suspect’s vehicle.”
(Note: It’s difficult to spot the flash in the officer’s bodycam video. Later in the news conference, the police chief explained that the muzzle flash is easier to discern on the surveillance footage from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s highway camera.)
The pursuit continued. Finally, the car stopped and the suspect exited through the passenger side of the vehicle. He was wearing a ski mask.
“The suspect fled the vehicle on foot, turning and facing officers momentarily,” the narrator said. “He continued to run, evading arrest. Officers attempted to safely take the suspect into custody by deploying their tasers.
“The deployment of tasers was unsuccessful, and the suspect continued to flee on foot. As the foot chase reached a nearby parking lot, the suspect stopped and quickly turned toward the pursuing officers.
“Officers reacted by discharging their firearms, striking the suspect.”
Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett told reporters, “There was a gun recovered from Mr. Walker’s vehicle. At the time of the shooting, he was unarmed.”
Mylett added, “After the shooting occurred, we went back to the scene where we believe the shot was fired. A casing was discovered at that location, consistent with the firearm that Mr. Walker had in his vehicle. [The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations] will determine whether or not that casing came from the gun.”
“And again,” he said, “independent of anything we did, the [Ohio Department of Transportation] camera captures what we believe to be a muzzle flash coming out of the car.”
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Mylett told reporters that BCI had begun a thorough investigation of what took place on that date.
He explained that when investigators arrive at a scene where a police shooting has occurred, they sequester the officers involved individually and ask them to do a “walk-through” of what happened.
“Each officer, independent of each other,” Mylett said, “related that they felt that Mr. Walker had turned and was motioning and moving into a firing position.”
The new evidence changes the storyline significantly, as evidence often does.
Still, without knowing all of the facts, Black Lives Matter leaped into action on Friday:
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
BCI’s investigation is ongoing.
In the meantime, BLM should try something new, like waiting for the report.
