Today Akron, Ohio police released video showing the moments that preceded 25-year-old Jayland Walker’s death late last month, when police say he died after shooting at a police car while in a vehicle pursuit and then fleeing on foot. He was shot him 60 times in a hail of over 90 bullets.
In a video presentation delivered today, one week after Walker’s death, police say he refused to pull over for a traffic violation, then initiated a police pursuit in which he fired on police vehicles from inside his car.
Ultimately, the police video shows that Walker fled his vehicle on foot. He continued running from officers despite their orders to stop, and they opened fire after first unsuccessfully attempting to deploy tasers to incapacitate him and end the pursuit. They add that there is a moment in the foot pursuit in which Walker appears to reach for his waistband, leading them to believe he was still armed.
Police say they found a gun inside his vehicle after the chase, and offered video showing the moment they say he fired on police while in his vehicle from multiple angles.
Warning: Graphic content ahead
The family’s attorney claims the video shows police acted improperly, according to Cleveland 19, but police say it shows the officers had reasonable cause to believe Walker had a gun when initiating a foot chase with police.
“I’m disappointed I saw that today,” said attorney Paige Wright, noting that Walker was unarmed as he fled from police on foot. “They want to turn him into a masked monster with a gun.”
“Nobody should ever suffer the fate that Jayland Walker did,” he declared. “We demand justice for Jayland Walker.”
Out-of-context video has been posted to social media, showing the moment police opened fire on Walker.
Protests started in Akron shortly after the body cam video was released, reported WKYC, which added that “hundreds” turned out.
The Daily Mail has compared the event to the death of George Floyd, writing that Walker’s death is the “latest in a spate of killings of black men by law enforcement in the United States.”
