Jayland Walker was a DoorDash delivery driver in Akron, Ohio. He was 25. On June 27 at around 12:30 am, police say they tried to pull him over for a traffic equipment violation. By the end of his interaction with the police, Walker had been shot at 90 times and was dead. His family is now demanding answers as to what happened. Meanwhile, the police body-cam footage has yet to be released.
Police claim Walker refused to stop to their attempts to pull him over. Police said Walker then slowed down and fled from the vehicle while it was still moving. Officers went on a “foot pursuit” that ended in a parking lot, CNN reported.
Walker died from multiple gunshot wounds to the face, abdomen and upper legs, CNN affiliate WEWS reported
“Actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them. In response to this threat, officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect,” the police statement said.
It is not clear is Walker was doing deliveries for DoorDash at the time of his killing.
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Family attorney Bobby DiCello however, said on Jun3 30 that he plans to hold each of the eight cops involved—reportedly seven white cops, one Black—accountable for Walker’s death, The Daily Beast reported.
“I’m going to say this to any police officer who wants to avoid accountability: we will get to the bottom of what occurred,” he said at a press conference.
Walker’s aunt, Lajuana Walker-Dawkins, also spoke at the press conference, saying, “From what we read: 90 shots. We don’t treat animals that way. Time and time again, what we see across this country are white people who are able to commit crimes, to slaughter people and live to tell the tale.”
DiCello said police plan to show body-cam footage to him by Friday, July 1, and make it public by Sunday, July News 5 Cleveland reporters.
DiCello also pointed out that Walker had a clean record. “This is not a monster, he said, holding up a photo of Walker. “This is not a man who ever caught a crime in his life. He’s a law-abiding citizen. He’s my client. And he’s our neighbor and our brother and our nephew, and we are here to honor and celebrate him today,”
The police officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation by the Akron Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to the police statement.
Photo: Jayland Walker, center, and family. Screenshot from Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC Channel 3
YouTube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib1pgPD_K6Y
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