AKRON, Ohio – The eight Akron police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last June won’t face criminal charges in his death.
A special grand jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court on Monday returned a no-bill, which means the jurors found the actions of the officers were justified. The jurors heard five days of evidence and testimony and then began their deliberations Monday.
The officers, whose names have been withheld by the city, weren’t released after the grand jury’s decision. A spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the attorney general’s office only publicly names officers already identified by their own departments.
The police killing of Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, sparked weeks of protests in Akron last summer, occasionally leading to clashes between police and demonstrators and damage to several businesses downtown. In preparation for protests following the special grand jury’s decision, tall metal fences, and concrete barriers were installed around the Summit County Courthouse and lower-level windows on City Hall were boarded up.
Schools and colleges in the area also moved to remote online learning.
What happened during the police shooting of Jayland Walker?
Police attempted to stop Walker for a traffic violation and an equipment violation on June 27. Police said he fired a shot from his car and fled the vehicle wearing a ski mask, body camera footage of the shooting showed.
After a car and foot chase, Walker was shot more than 40 times by eight officers. Walker was unarmed, but a handgun was later found in his vehicle, officials said.
What’s next for the officers?
The Akron Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to determine if the officers violated any internal policies and procedures. Community members have requested that the Department of Justice and FBI investigate the shooting.
Yost said previously if the officers weren’t indicted he will immediately release an investigative file that will likely include hundreds of photos, dozens of video and audio recordings – many never before seen or heard by the public – and thousands of documents, including interviews with police, mobile phone records, social media posts, and search warrants.
During a news conference Monday evening, Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett each said they plan to reach out to the Walker family regarding the grand jury’s decision.
Mylett reiterated the department will not release the officers’ names due to safety concerns as they will remain on administrative duties. The chief added that the city can choose a path either toward healing or a path toward destruction.
“It is my sincere prayer and hope that we choose a path toward healing,” Mylett said.
Family reaction to grand jury decision
Walker’s family will file a civil lawsuit against the city and officers closer to the one-year anniversary of his client’s death, family attorney Bobby DiCello said.
During an emotional separate news conference with Walker’s family and community leaders on Monday, DiCello said that his client “didn’t have a chance,” based on the grand jury’s decision.
DiCello also reacted to Mylett’s request for safe protesting earlier Monday.
“When I heard the chief of police say he wants no destruction, he wants no problems, he wants peace, he needs to know the pain of the family of Jayland Walker,” said DiCello, adding that “city leadership has been destroyed.”
DiCello also urged protestors to demonstrate peacefully and nonviolently, including some who have been called “violent mongrels who support this cause, prove them wrong.”
Ohio state Rep. Emilia Sykes tearfully said she “still can’t comprehend how a young man has 46 bullet holes,” in response to the number of times officers shot Walker.
Additionally, the congresswoman said she will formally request the Department of Justice to conduct a “practices and patterns” federal investigation on the Akron Police Department.
“Accountability and public safety must co-exist together,” Sykes said. “I’m not going to run away from this challenge. None of us will.”
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Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj. Contact Breaking News Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg