Jayland Walker fired a shot at Akron police - then he was shot 46 times.
This is the story leading up to the incidents.
Jayland Walker was grieving last June. His fiancee had died in a hit-and-run accident near Cincinnati the month before. Jaymeisha Beasley, 27, was riding without a seatbelt in the back of a van that was hit by a semi. Beasley was ejected from the van and then run over by a car, which did not stop. Walker and Beasley had been dating since high school and were making wedding plans before her death.
Walker, a lifelong resident of Akron, was understandably devastated. Still, his family didn’t notice any odd or concerning behavior.
On June 20, a 25-year-old Walker purchased a gun and ammunition at a firing range. He was not overly familiar with using firearms. Walker, a delivery driver for DoorDash and UberEats, had no criminal record.
Very early in the morning of June 26, police in New Franklin, Ohio attempted to stop a vehicle owned by Walker for a burned-out license plate light and a broken tailight. Police aborted their pursuit when Walker’s car left the city limits.
The next day, June 27, the same vehicle was spotted by Akron police. Officers noted the burned-out license plate light. They decided not to pursue the vehicle for a minor violation.
When the car passed by officers again several minutes later, they then attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver, Walker, refused to stop and fired a single shot in the direction of police. At that point, officers called in for all available police in the area to assist.
The pursuit eventually ended, and Walker emerged from the car. He was wearing a ski mask. Officers instructed him to stop and put his hands up, but he did not comply. Officers attempted non-lethal force to stop Walker from running. At one point, he made a “reaching motion,” perhaps to a jacket pocket. Officers interpreted that as Walker possibly reaching for his weapon. He turned toward the officers and raised one of his arms. Police began firing.
Walker went down but continued to move while on the ground. Officers kept shooting. Within seven seconds, they fired 95 shots, 46 of which entered Walker’s body. Eight officers were involved in the incident. Some of them fired as many as 18 times. It remains unlcear why they fired so many shots.
Back at Walker’s car, officers found an unloaded gun, a magazine, a single shell casing and a wedding or engagement ring. Walker did not have the gun on his body when he was running from police.
Officials say there is no clear evidence that Walker was suicidal following the death of his fiancee and therefore chose “suicide by cop” to end his life. Walker was Black, although one of the officers calling in details during the car chase described him as a White male.
On Monday, April 17, Ohio AG Dave Yost announced that a grand jury had decided not to pursue charges against the eight police officers who shot Walker. Following the announcement, Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett called for peaceful demonstrations. The University of Akron quickly switched all evening classes to online. Akron City Schools canceled classes for the next day. So far, there has been no violence.
Walker’s family and their attorney expressed outrage over the grand jury decision. They plan to file a wrongful death suit.
Family didn't notice odd behavior after the accident - yet he felt the need to buy a gun. He was wearing a ski mask, in JUNE. His non-compliance should have been a sign too. We will never know, but the presence of the ring in the car to me looks like he wanted to join his girlfriend. It was certainly overkill, but had I heard those circumstances as a grand jury member I might have voted the same way.