AKRON, Ohio-The lead attorney for the Jayland Walker family, Ohio 13th Congressional District Congresswoman Emilia Sykes and activists and Black clergy leaders expressed outrage at a press conference held Monday afternoon after a Summit County grand jury refused to indict eight Akron cops who gunned down the 25-year old Walker shooting 94 bullets as he ran away from police on foot. Also on hand were leaders of the Akron chapter NAACP, which has also taken a stance in support of the Jayland Walker family relative to the celebrated police shooting.
The largely White, majority female county grand jury issued what is called a no bill after determining that the shooting death was justified and that criminal charges were not warranted.The tragic killing by police of the young Black man with no criminal record has drawn national attention to Akron, a city of roughly 200,000 residents that is some 30 miles southeast of Cleveland and the hometown of NBA megastar and Los Angeles Laker LeBron James
The police shooting incident in question occurred following a car and foot chase and traffic stop in June of 2022. No gun was found on Walker's person but police say they later found a gun in his car, and that he allegedly shot at them before jumping out of the car and taking off on foot. Monday's press conference by the Walker family followed one held earlier in the day by state attorney general Dave Yost, who said that Walker shot at police and that "he shot first." But Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello disagreed with the grand jury decision, and was livid at Monday's press conference.
"It's as if God knew bad news was coming," said DiCello, who has also promised a Civil Rights and deadly force lawsuit on behalf of the family. "We've all been shaken by this news from the grand jury."
One of three Black congresswomen from Ohio, all of them Democrats, Sykes, an Akron Democrat and former minority leader of the Ohio House of Representatives, gave an emotional presentation, calling for calm and branding the grand jury decision not to indict unjust and routine for Black America. And she questioned how Walker could be gunned down execution style while running away from the police and without any weapon and not one of the involved cops is criminally prosecuted.
"We've seen this time and time again and now it's in our community of Akron," the congresswoman said, adding that the Congressional Black Caucus for which she is a member stands with her, the family, and the community in highlighting the injustices regarding the grand jury investigation and the subsequent outcome that has unnerved Akron's Black community, activists and Civil Rights advocates.
The congresswoman, who pledged to seek a Department of Justice investigation behind the shooting, stopped short of calling the grand jury process tainted, and racist as activists, community leaders and the attorneys for the Walker family continue to argue that it is in fact racist, and undemocratic at the core.
Akron pastor the Rev Robert Dejournette spoke following the congresswoman and said that it's not over and that "we are going to continue to fight."
Jayland Walker's mother, Pamela Walker, and his sister, Jayla Walker, who have both been vocal in the past, did not speak but were in attendance and sitting upfront at the press conference, and both were visibly upset as the city braces for potential protests in coming days.
Though controversial, Monday's grand jury decision has not caused the racial unrest that followed Walker's shooting death last summer. Akron Public Schools, however, are closed for tomorrow and the University of Akron has moved to remote learning for day and night classes on Tuesday.
Here's what police and city officials say led up to the police shooting death of Jayland Walker, much of it at odds with what attorneys for the Walker family say happened
According to the Akron Police Department, at about 12:30 a.m. on June 27, police in Akron attempted to stop Walker for an unspecified traffic violation. Walker did not stop and a chase ensued. The pursuing officers say gunfire came from the vehicle less than a minute into the chase. After several minutes, Walker exited the highway and the chase continued along city streets.
Eventually, Walker's car slowed down, and while the car was still moving, Walker exited from the passenger's side, wearing a ski mask, and ran towards a nearby parking lot. Officers chased Walker and attempted to stop him with a stun gun but were not successful. After about ten seconds of chasing Walker, eight police officers opened fire for six or seven seconds, shooting approximately 94 rounds. Police said that it appeared Walker was turning towards them, and they believed he was armed and "moving into a firing position, a claim the Walker family attorneys dispute
Following the shooting, Walker was put in handcuffs by police and was found with his hands cuffed behind his back when EMTs arrived on the scene. According to police, officers attempted to administer first aid to Walker after he was shot Walker was pronounced dead at the scene. Police claim that a wedding band was found in Walker's car and that Walker may have been acting erratically because he had just lost his fiance in an unrelated car accident Community activists and the Walker family attorneys dispute such assertions and contend that they are nothing but a cover up for a police shooting gone wrong, and that the entire scenario is indicative of a lack of police training and excessive force.
The medical examiner observed 60 wounds on Walker's body, with some uncertainty based on entrance and exit wounds.No firearm was found on Walker's body.The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Walker's death a homicide.
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