The bodycam footage taken by police Sunday of Jayland, a black 25-year old man from Akron in Ohio, was released. Already, controversy has erupted over the incident that occurred in the early morning of June 26.
Sunday saw hundreds of demonstrators march against police brutality and shootings. According to Cleveland 19 News, although protests were generally peaceful throughout the day, there was unrest around 10 p.m. Reports say that someone set fire to the dumpster, which was then extinguished in good faith by a Good Samaritan. The police used teargas to disperse demonstrators who were protesting over night.
Walker was pulled over by officers for violating traffic laws. Officers attempted to stop Walker for a traffic violation but he refused and led them on a pursuit that reached speeds of 80 miles an hour. In a statement, the officers on the scene “reported a firearm being discharged from the suspect vehicle.” The footage appears to show a muzzle flash coming from Walker’s vehicle before he stopped and fled on foot. Later, officers found a handgun in Walker’s car with a spent bullet casing.
Two officers tried to use non-lethal Tasers to arrest the suspect who also wore a ski mask as they chased him. Walker appeared to suddenly turn toward the officers and they opened fire on him, killing him. The suspect was hit by about 60 bullets from the 90-round round of ammunition fired by officers. Walker was on the ground for approximately three to five seconds, and the video captures Walker being continued by the officers. At the moment he fled, he was not equipped.
Robert DiCello, an attorney representing Walker’s family, criticized the officers, accusing them of going too far. “You see two officers deploy their tasers. You don’t notice it, but you learn later that that’s what happens because tasers don’t make a big bang sound,” he said. “All a sudden, without warning, and for no reason that I can discern on the video — there’s no hand gestures, there’s no stopping, there’s no turning, there’s no motion, there’s no anything — he (Walker) seems to be turning over his left shoulder to look and then gunfire erupts.”
The investigation into the incident has led to an administrative suspension of officers who were involved in shooting.
DiCello stated that Walker only just purchased the firearm. “Jayland was not familiar with firearms, and we do not know if it accidentally fired,” he said. “But police did find no bullets in the handgun when they found it in the car after his death.”
Law enforcement stated that the magazine was on the seat, although they didn’t say whether it was loaded. Akron Police Chief Stephen L. Mylett insisted that Walker had turned quickly toward the officers and made a motion toward his “waist area,” which officers interpreted as a threat.
The officers were criticized by critics who claimed that they used excessive force in firing too many shots. The officers were also questioned about why Walker was still being shot after Walker had been clearly incapacitated. The fact that the suspect is a black man only intensified the hostilities, activists insisting that the shooting was motivated by racism.
While this is a tragic incident, it isn’t the same one as in cases like Walter Scott and Amir Locke. Walker did fire at least one shot, but the footage shows that Walker fled from his vehicle after he was stopped by officers. The officers tried to arrest the suspect using non-lethal methods even after they were shot. It was too dark to see that he left his gun in the vehicle. It was obvious that he was a danger, so they opened fire on him.
It is worth noting, however that 90 rounds fired between 8 officers seems excessive. This case did not seem to justify firing so many rounds. It is also unprofessional that the officers continued firing after Walker had been shot. This could result in some officers being fired. Walker’s firing on them is the first sign that they will not be tried for a crime.
These details will be the ammo the anti-police crowd will use to paint Walker’s killing as the result of racial bigotry on the part of the officers involved. High-profile leftists have been focusing their attention on the large number of bullets that were fired, while accusing officers with racial bias. So far, I have seen none of them mention the fact that Walker fired the first shot – and I don’t expect to. The fact that Walker fired the first shot is an inconvenient fact to the story they’re spinning.
It is difficult enough to be sexist about this situation. Walker will not be painted as an innocent victim in this instance. However, this does not mean the left won’t still try to exploit the shooting.
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