Bodycam Footage Shows Akron Officers Opening Fire

City cancels holiday celebrations as Jayland Walker's family joins pleas for peace
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2022 2:55 PM CDT
Bodycam Footage Shows Akron Officers Opening Fire
Attorney Bobby DiCello, right, holds up a photograph of Jayland Walker, 25, as he speaks on behalf of the Walker family during a news conference Thursday in Akron, Ohio.   (Jeff Lange/Akron Beacon Journal via AP)

Police on Sunday released what the mayor of Akron, Ohio, called "heartbreaking" body camera video of the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black motorist killed Monday. The graphic video shows the moment eight police officers began firing at Walker, NBC News reports, hitting him multiple times. "Actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them,” police said at a press conference. "In response to this threat, officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect."

Walker was unarmed at the time of the shooting, per the AP, but police officials said a shot appeared to have come from his vehicle while he was being chased. Police Chief Steve Mylett said an autopsy found 60 wounds to Walker's body, but it's not clear which ones were entrance wounds and which were exit wounds. Bobby DiCello, an attorney for Walker's family, said he watched the footage three times and saw no indication that Walker shot at police. "They want to turn him into a masked monster with a gun, and we knew that," DiCello said. "But I want to thank the chief for one thing he said, at the time he was shot ... he was unarmed." WEWS posted video of the press conference, including the graphic footage, here.

Mayor Dan Horrigan called off Akron's Fourth of July events, saying this "is not the time for a city-led celebration." He also urged calm in the city. "You’re going to have to do one of the most difficult things I can ever ask anyone to do," he told residents, "and that is to please be patient and let the attorney general do their work." DiCello said Walker's family also wants peace in the city. "If you can do anything for the family, please give peace," he said. "Give dignity and give justice a chance." (More police shooting stories.)

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