Officials in Akron released footage from a body camera on Sunday that showed the police-involved shooting of Jayland Walker.
During a press conference Sunday afternoon, Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett shared the footage, while calling for peace after the city canceled its Independence Day celebrations as protests erupted in the city in response to the Black man’s death at the hands of police.
Of the footage, Walker’s family attorney, Bobby DiCello told the Akron Beacon Journal, “This is going to be a brutal video. It’s going to stir up some passion. It’s going to make people uneasy.”
The 25-year-old was killed in a barrage of bullets on June 27 in Akron’s Firestone Park neighborhood. Akron police attempted to pull Walker over for a traffic violation. This triggered a brief police chase. According to cops, Walker pulled out a gun before fleeing from police and began shooting at them. DiCello claimed that he had not seen any evidence that supports that claim. He also said that Walker was running from police when he started shooting at them.
During Sunday’s press briefing, Mylett said Walker was unarmed when he was gunned down, stating that the medical examiner found 60 wounds on Walker’s body.
“Based on the video, I anticipate that number to be high,” Mylett said. “A lot of rounds were fired,” Mylett said. He said that police have not released the exact number of shots they fired.
According to the Journal, DiCello believes that at least 90 shots were fired.
“In my 22 years of doing trial work, both as a former prosecutor for Cuyahoga County and as a civil rights attorney on many serious cases of lethal use of force, I have never in my life seen anything like this, ever. It is very, very disturbing,”DiCello stated this to the Journal.
Mylett stated that officers had begun life-saving efforts on Walker after the shooting had stopped. However, it was too late. Walker was killed on the spot. According to authorities, the eight officers involved in the shooting were cooperating with investigators and placed on administrative leave.
Walker’s family, meanwhile, are calling for any demonstrations in Walker’s honor to be peaceful, saying that is what he would have wanted.
The Akron Police Department has requested that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations lead the probe.
RELATED STORIES