In Akron, Ohio, early in the morning on June 30th, Jayland Walker was shot fatally by eight police officers. Walker did not pull over for a traffic stop and was pursued by the police.
Instead of slowing down, he sped up which caused more police cars to follow him. It is believed that a gunshot was fired from Walker’s car during the chase but it is unknown if it was accidental or on purpose. Eventually, Jayland Walker did pull over and proceeded to flee from police on foot while wearing a ski mask, which resulted in the police firing at him. He was unarmed while fleeing but a gun was found in the car. The police released the footage of the pursuit after the incident.
“The video is heartbreaking, it’s hard to take in,” Akron’s Mayor Daniel Horrigan said.
The contents of the video and the crime Jayland Walker was killed for, fleeing an attempted traffic stop, caused many people to protest police violence. Additionally, many were shocked by the number of times the police fired on Walker, which was about 90 times. 60 of the bullets hit their mark. While the protests were mainly peaceful, in the evening, some protests became violent with some protesters breaking windows and starting small fires. The eight police officers involved in the shooting were put on administrative leave and Walker’s heartbroken family sued.
“This wasn’t self-defense, it wasn’t an accident in the heat of the moment, it was murder. Point blank,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “This Black man was killed – struck more than 60 times by 90 fired bullets – for a possible traffic violation. This doesn’t happen to white people in America.”
Sources:
https://www.walb.com/2022/07/03/authorities-release-body-camera-footage-police-shooting-death-jayland-walker/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/us/jayland-walker-shooting-what-we-know/index.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+traffic+stop&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS933US933&oq=what+is+a+traffic+stop&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l4j0i457i512j0i512l4.5506j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/03/jayland-walker-akron-police-officer-shooting-video-release/7796683001/
Instead of slowing down, he sped up which caused more police cars to follow him. It is believed that a gunshot was fired from Walker’s car during the chase but it is unknown if it was accidental or on purpose. Eventually, Jayland Walker did pull over and proceeded to flee from police on foot while wearing a ski mask, which resulted in the police firing at him. He was unarmed while fleeing but a gun was found in the car. The police released the footage of the pursuit after the incident.
“The video is heartbreaking, it’s hard to take in,” Akron’s Mayor Daniel Horrigan said.
The contents of the video and the crime Jayland Walker was killed for, fleeing an attempted traffic stop, caused many people to protest police violence. Additionally, many were shocked by the number of times the police fired on Walker, which was about 90 times. 60 of the bullets hit their mark. While the protests were mainly peaceful, in the evening, some protests became violent with some protesters breaking windows and starting small fires. The eight police officers involved in the shooting were put on administrative leave and Walker’s heartbroken family sued.
“This wasn’t self-defense, it wasn’t an accident in the heat of the moment, it was murder. Point blank,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “This Black man was killed – struck more than 60 times by 90 fired bullets – for a possible traffic violation. This doesn’t happen to white people in America.”
Sources:
https://www.walb.com/2022/07/03/authorities-release-body-camera-footage-police-shooting-death-jayland-walker/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/us/jayland-walker-shooting-what-we-know/index.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+traffic+stop&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS933US933&oq=what+is+a+traffic+stop&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l4j0i457i512j0i512l4.5506j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/03/jayland-walker-akron-police-officer-shooting-video-release/7796683001/
