Fatal Police shooting in Ohio
Jayland Walker suffered at least 60 gunshot wounds when Akron, Ohio, police officers fatally shot him during a pursuit last week, Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett said Sunday. City officials also played police body camera footage after the fatal shooting.
The video raises more questions about the shooting of the unarmed African-American man that is being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI).
Police said the shooting occurred after Walker, 25, fled as officers tried to initiate a traffic stop for traffic and equipment violations.
After a car chase, Walker got out of his car and a foot chase took place. Officers believed Walker was reaching towards his waist and they “felt that Mr. Walker had turned and was motioning and moving into a firing position,” Mylett said.
Walker, however, was not armed.
In narrated body camera video, police said that about 40 seconds after Walker drove away from police, “a sound consistent with a gunshot can be heard on the body-worn cameras of the officers.”
Police also said “a flash of light” could be seen on the driver’s side of the car at the time of the sound. “That changes the whole nature of the traffic stop,” Mylett said at the news conference.
“It went from being a routine traffic stop, to now a public safety issue.