By: Emily Li

On Monday, June 27th, 2022, Jayland Walker, a black man, was unarmed when he was fired at by the Ohio police. He was 25 years old. The murder occurred in Akron, Ohio.

Police officers claim that Walker committed a “traffic and equipment violation.” According to a medical examiner, Jayland suffered more than 60 gunshot wounds and was shot more than 90 times by eight Ohio police officers.

Police officers insist that they tried to get Walker to pull over for traffic and equipment violations. However, when he refused to stop, the chase unfolded. The police advanced when Walker’s car slowed down as he successfully attempted to escape through the passenger door. “Just sprinting away from these men, he is shot as he starts to turn and look over his shoulder,” said Dicello, an attorney for the Walker’s. The officers shot Jayland Walker until he died and could be seen continuing shooting for seven seconds. They handcuffed Walker who was then pronounced dead by medical professionals.

After the unjustified murder of Walker, people began protesting the Akron Police Department on Sunday. All day, waves of local activists tried to confront the police, wanting to be heard. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, comments, “[t]his wasn’t self-defense, it wasn’t an accident in the heat of the moment, it was murder.” Mayor Dan Horrigan lifted the 9 p.m. to 6am curfew, in hopes that people would be more peaceful.

This is not the first time a black man has been murdered by police officials. In the past, police have tried to mislead the public on what truly happened during the killings. They have claimed George Floyd had “medical distress.” George Floyd was an African American man who was suffocated to death by a white police officer early last year. We do not know the full truth on what had really happened for Jayland Walker, for police reports often include misinformation to justify actions.

Jayland’s death is like a storm for his family. They are swamped with pain and the public riots in support. As the city is in unrest, there were numerous arrests. The planned Fourth of July fireworks in Ohio were canceled “in order to preserve peace in our community.”

Links:

● https://abcnews.go.com/US/black-man-unarmed-ohio-officers-opened-fire-family/story?id=86149929

● https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/07/jayland-walker-protest-arrests-akron/7828647001/

● https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/us/jayland-walker-shooting-what-we-know/index.html

● https://www.vox.com/2022/7/7/23197430/jayland-walker-police-shooting-akron-ohio-footage