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Angry activists rallied in the city of Akron in northern United States following yet another police shooting death of a Black man earlier this week.
Jayland Walker, 25, was shot and killed Monday, after officers tried to stop his car over a traffic violation, the police department in the city of Akron, Ohio said.
But Walker drove off and fired a shot as police engaged in a car chase, which lasted several minutes. He eventually got out of his car, while it was still moving, and fled on foot.
Several officers finally chased Walker to a parking lot, where “actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them,” leading them to open fire, the police statement said.
Walker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials have provided few details of the shooting, promising to release body-cam video from the scene soon, but local media have reported that dozens of shots were fired.
“Jayland was a sweet young man, he never caused any trouble,” his aunt Lajuana Walker-Dawkins told reporters.
“This is not a monster. This is not a man who ever caught a crime in his life,” said attorney Bobby DiCello, who represents Walker’s family.
The incident was the latest death of an African American citizen at the hands of police, events that have sparked mass protests over racism social justice and police brutality.
Small demonstrations were held in Akron in recent days and a bigger rally was scheduled for Sunday.
Fearing potential unrest, authorities in the city of 190,000 people moved snowplows and other heavy equipment near the police department to serve as a barrier, according to local media.
Body camera footage of the police shooting will be released Sunday, city officials have announced.
Multiple news outlets have reported Walker was shot close to 60 times based on the medical examiner’s preliminary summary. The officers involved are on paid administrative leave.
DiCello said he saw some of the body camera footage Friday alongside family members.
“The troubling fact of this case is the amount of firepower and the aggressive failure to de-escalate the situation in the encounter with Jayland Walker,” DiCello said. “This case is graphic. It is scary, violent, troubling.”
Walker’s family and many community members do not think they have all the answers from police.
“There is an allegation that he was somehow a threat to the officers at the time he was shot, and we have seen no evidence of that at all,” DiCello said. “I can tell you in talking to the chief myself that he hasn’t yet been able to find it.”
DiCello added that the family is saddened that Fourth of July festivities were canceled in the city in anticipation of potentially violent protests in response to Walker’s death.
“We do not want violence, violent protests, mayhem of any kind. We want peace, dignity and justice for Jayland, nothing else,” DiCello said.
People gathered there Friday afternoon, holding signs calling for justice and chanting “Black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace.” Some drivers honked to show support for the group as they passed by.
Protester Cristhy Sotres led the group in chants calling for police to be held accountable.
“It was a public execution,” Sotres said. “These thugs have gotten [away] with this for so long because it’s legislated, and they need to be held accountable for what they do.”
Akron resident Ian Ferguson also attended the protest and said he hopes justice will be served.
“It’s a little ridiculous that they can get away with this, and with the long history that we have in our country of police brutality, chances are they’re probably not going to have any type of repercussion for what’s going on,” Ferguson said.
The Black Elected Officials of Summit County, which includes leaders from several cities and the county, released a statement calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.
“As Black people, we are too often considered suspect and perceived as threatening, which is why the killing of Mr. Walker is so disturbing. After being shot 60 times, police still deemed it necessary to bind his hands in cuffs. Mr. Walker was already dead. When are we not a threat?” said Summit County Councilwoman Veronica Sims, president of the group.
Akron Ward 5 Councilwoman Tara Mosley added, “No traffic stop should end with someone losing their life. Jayland Walker mattered to his family, to his friends, and to this community. Jayland’s life mattered.”
U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown also released a statement Friday urging the city of Akron and the police department to be thorough and transparent in the investigation of Walker’s death.
“I join with so many in the Akron community in mourning the death of Jayland Walker, who was revered as ‘a neighbor, brother, and nephew’ and, I’m sure, so much more,” Rep. Brown said in the statement. “I am gravely concerned about the killing of a young Black man at the hands of police, especially as it happens all too often across this country.”
