The video released Sunday showed eight police officers in Akron, Ohio, were involved in a shooting that killed an unarmed black man whose body was found with about 60 injuries after fleeing a traffic stop last week. past.
Police played several videos at a news conference, one of which he said shows a shot from the car driven by 25-year-old Jayland Walker.
Police Chief Steve Mylett said officers tried to stop Walker’s car early Monday for unspecified traffic and equipment violations, but less than a minute after the chase the sound of a shot was heard. from the car. A camera from the transportation department captured what appeared to be a muzzle flash coming from the vehicle.
Police said a few minutes later that the car slowed down and Walker got out of the vehicle that was still moving with a ski mask on and fled on foot.
A gun, a loaded magazine and a wedding ring were found in the seat and a weapon-compatible casing was later found at the spot where officers believed a shot was coming from the vehicle, authorities said.
After an unsuccessful attempt to use stunning devices, the chase on foot continued to a parking lot, at which point a crescendo of bullets can be heard in the video.
(WARNING: the video contains graphic images)
MIRAR | Ohio police release a body camera video showing Jayland Walker’s shooting:
Ohio police release a body camera video showing the shooting of Jayland Walker
Police in Akron, Ohio, have released body camera footage showing the time police shot Jayland Walker, an unarmed black man. Walker suffered up to 60 bullet wounds.
Walker family lawyer Bobby DiCello told reporters Sunday that he was “very concerned” by the police allegation that Walker had fired at officers from his car and stressed that there was no justification for his violent death.
“They want to turn him into a monster masked with a gun,” DiCello said. “I ask you, as he escapes, what’s reasonable? To kill him? No, that’s not reasonable.”
“Difficult to distinguish” actions
Mylett said he’s seen the video dozens of times and Walker’s actions are hard to distinguish, but one still photo looks like it shows him “going down to the waist area” and another looks like he’s turning toward an officer and a third “capture” image. a forward movement of the arm “.
After the shooting, officers who fired were kept apart and investigators who arrived guided them individually through the scene, Myett said.
“Each officer, independently of each other, said he felt Mr. Walker had turned around and was making a gesture and moving toward a firing position,” he said.
At a press conference on Sunday, Akron police chief Stephen Mylett told reporters that the officers involved should explain their actions and that they should be held accountable. (Gaelen Morse / Reuters)
Mylett said an agent who shoots at someone must be “prepared to explain why he did what he did, he must be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing … and they need to be explained “.
But he said he is holding the trial on his actions until they make their statements. He said the union president has told him everyone is “fully cooperating” with the investigation.
Police said more than 60 body wounds were found, but more needs to be investigated to determine exactly how many rounds the eight officers fired and how many times Walker was hit. Officers offered help and can be heard saying he still had dust, Mylett said, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost promised a “complete, fair and expert investigation.” He warned that “the images of the camera worn on the body are just a view of the whole image; before drawing conclusions, the full review must be done.”
Officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is a common practice in these cases.
He calls for the responsibility of the police
Walker’s family is demanding responsibility, but also peace, his lawyers said after the city released the video of the shooting.
DiCello said shots were fired by police even after Walker was on the ground, and police handcuffed him before attempting to give first aid.
“How he got to this with a chase is beyond me,” DiCello said, adding that Walker’s family doesn’t know why he ran away from police.
Protesters march Sunday in Akron, the fourth day of protests in Ohio City over Walker’s murder. (Gaelen Morse / Reuters)
Walker was mourning the recent death of his girlfriend, but his family had no sign of concern beyond that, DiCello said.
“He was sad, but he was going through it,” DiCello said. He said he doesn’t know if the ring found near the gun belonged to Walker.
The local chapter of the civil rights group NAACP organized a rally at Akron City Hall on Sunday afternoon, marking the fourth day of protests in the city over Walker’s death.
The shooting was the latest in a series of killings of black men by law enforcement in the United States that critics say are racist and unjustified, including the 2020 assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis that sparked global protests against police brutality and racial injustice.