Jayland Walker was Shot Over 40 Times by Akron Police — None of the Officers were Indicted

A special grand jury decides against indicting eight officers on criminal charges in the shooting death of Jayland Walker following a traffic stop in Akron, Ohio.

0
Howard University News Service

By Chrisleen Herard, Howard University News Service

Of the 94 bullets that flew into the air, it is unclear which one took the life of 25-year-old Jayland Walker as he ran from police in Akron, Ohio, after a traffic stop on June 27, 2022. Suffering from grazes, entrance wounds and blood loss, Walker was left on the ground dying in handcuffs. Months later, a grand jury decided not to indict any of the eight officers directly involved in his death.

“I was hopeful that one or two of them, for sure, would be indicted simply because, in my mind, nothing justifies 90 bullets, right? It just doesn’t,” said Judi Hill, president of the NAACP Akron chapter. “I find that hard to believe. I really do. I was taken aback.”

A special grand jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court concluded on Monday that there was not enough probable cause to indict the eight officers in the fatal shooting of Walker and that police were “legally justified in their use of force.”

According to police, officers attempted to stop Walker for a traffic and equipment violation along East Tallmadge Avenue. Instead, a police chase ensued for 4 ½ minutes before the eight officers fired over 90 rounds at Walker.

“My office’s work and the decision of the grand jury is driven by the law as it is not as it might be,” Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a press conference. “It is unusual, although hardly unprecedented, to have this many officers firing their weapon at the same time at a single subject.”

“That being said, it is critical to remember that Mr. Walker had fired on the police and that he shot first.” (See “Police Account of a Stop Gone Wrong,” below.)

Police officers claim that they heard a sound that was “consistent with a gunshot” go off in Walker’s car, along with a flash of light. They also said they later found an empty gun and a loaded magazine in Walker’s vehicle in addition to a matching shell case on the road where the chase took place.

“So we still question that, if that were true,” Hill said. “I find it very interesting that they can go back to where they thought that shot was fired at night and find a casing. I have issues with that scenario for the very simple reason that I’m still waiting for someone to say that they tested the gun to see if it had been fired that day. We still have not heard that.”

Jayland Edward Walker was a wrestler at Buchtel High School and worked as a DoorDash driver up until the time of his death. Walker had dreams of opening a delivery business and was engaged to be married. A wedding ring was among the items found in his vehicle the morning he died. Walker had hopes of having a family one day.

“He was just another guy — one of those kids where any parent would be proud to have him as a son, one of those unique kids that never caused any trouble,” said Walker’s cousin and family spokesperson, the Rev. Robert DeJournett, pastor of the St. Ashworth Temple COGIC. “But I’ll always remember his smile. Right? He had a unique smile all the time, all the time.”

DeJournett recalled the day he received the news of Walker’s death. “I was here at the church and got a call from my sister, saying that a detective was trying to contact me because something happened at my cousin Pam’s house.”

“[The detective] Facetimed me through Facebook Messenger and she said: ‘We need somebody to get over Walker’s house. We killed her son last night.’ Those were the words.”

When DeJournett arrived at the house, he saw Walker’s sister, Jada, but heard his mother, Pam Walker.

“Jada is sitting outside crying, just bawling and crying, and I hear this scream. I mean, a scream that I can never get out of my memory,” DeJournett recalls. “I will never forget [Pam’s] scream out of, just like, out of the depths of her heart to scream in pain and anguish about her baby, ‘My baby, my baby, they killed my baby.’”

Walker’s family says that he had “the biggest soul,” never bothered anyone and had never been in trouble before, except for a possible speeding ticket.

His family also stated that Walker gave them no indication that anything was seriously wrong. He wasn’t acting strange or suicidal before his death, even after losing his high school sweetheart and fiancee, Jaymiesha Beasley, a month earlier in a hit-and-run accident. The driver has yet to be found.

“He was definitely grieving, as would anyone of course, I can only imagine,” DeJournett said. “Even if he was still grieving, does it still justify shooting at him 90 something times?”

Dr. Lisa Kohler, the Summit County medical examiner, said no alcohol or drugs were found on Walker’s toxicology report.

After Walker’s death, Akron’s then newly appointed chief of police, Stephen Mylett, called upon the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (OBCI) to investigate whether the officers involved in the shooting would be criminally charged.

“It still even bothers me to talk about it, because here we wanted that independent investigation,” Hill said. “We did not want the city to do their own investigation.”

Veronica Sims, president of the Summit City Council, also reacted to Walker’s case and the grand jury’s decision. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around the extent of 90 bullets and over 40 hitting the body of a human being and that be justified,” Sims said..

“I share in the heartbreak of the community and felt the pain,” she added. “But even in the midst of that, there was still this sense of hope.”

Protesters took to the streets on Wednesday night to express their disapproval of the grand jury’s decision, but were met with chemical sprays and irritants. Police alleged that demonstrators had thrown rocks and bottles, deeming the protest as an “unlawful assembly.”

“I’m always concerned and have great deal of concern about the use of tear gases, because I believe that it does serve to escalate and, quite frankly, it’s dangerous,” Sims said. “And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t see in any shape which it is necessary. So, we are pursuing, I am at least, from a county standpoint to address that.”

“But I think people have the right to assemble, and it can’t be left to other people’s interpretation based on the volume of their voices or how hard they stomp, whether or not that is peaceful or not. It’s their right, and we should make a way for them to be able to exercise that.”

The Akron Bail Fund, an organization that seeks to support and bail out demonstrators, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Akron for the police’s use of excessive force.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate the Akron Police Department following the jury’s decision not to indict the officers in Walker’s case. Chief Mylett also said that he would be conducting an internal investigation to determine whether the officers violated any policies during the time of the shooting.

“The safety and security of our neighborhoods requires trust between the community and the law enforcement officers who have taken an oath to protect and serve, but this trust has been violated and must be rebuilt,” Sykes wrote in a statement. “As such, I will formally request the Department of Justice to begin an investigation into the patterns and practices of the Akron Police Department to start the process of understanding how the department operates and look to create solutions for more community-focused policing that serves the needs of every segment of our community.”

“After the TV crews leave and the nation is no longer watching, it will only be us left to pick up the pieces,” she said. “Our community deserves the chance to heal and move forward, which we will do, must do — together.”

Furthermore, attorneys for Walker’s family plan to file a civil suit before the one-year anniversary of his death.

“We want every bullet accounted for; that is what was promised to the Walker family,” said Kenneth Abbarno, one of the family’s attorneys, said in a press conference after the grand jury decision. “Not a single bullet has been accounted for so far. … And we will push and advocate with grace and with dignity.”

“We’ve heard this time and time again. How does a traffic stop end up like this?”

Amid pending lawsuits and roaring protests across the city, DeJournett hopes that his cousin’s death will bring change to Akron and its system.

“My prayer is that something good comes out of this, this tragedy,” DeJournett said. “That we change policies [and] get more transparency in our police department. That we change the training with a training that’s more culturally competent. That we set a whole new direction, just really look into the way things have gone, the way things are, and if things stay the same, things will keep happening the same.”

“We have to really start peeling back the layers to get to the root cause of why [there is] such total disregard to human life. Why is this happening?”

_____

Chrisleen Herard covers criminal justice for HUNewsService.com.