Ohio officers shot dead unarmed Black man
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Ohio police officers are proven to have shot Black man Jayland Walker some 60 times over a minor traffic violation.
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Police brutality victim Jayland Walker, 25
Footage released on Sunday showed eight police officers killing an unarmed Black man whose body was then found with some 60 gunshot wounds after he fled a traffic stop last week.
The Akron Police Department played several videos during a news conference, one of which they claimed showed a gunshot being fired from the car 25-year-old Jayland Walker was driving. He fled in his car following attempts by officers to pull him over for a minor traffic violation.
The car chase lasted several minutes, and it culminated with Walker jumping out of his vehicle and running away from the police, the footage showed. However, the police claimed that he was turning toward officers and accompanied their allegations with claims that they thought he was armed. A gun was later recovered from his car, but it was not on his person at the time the police officers believed he had it.
The Walker family attorney, Bobby DiCello, told reporters on Sunday that he was "very concerned" about the allegations made by the police regarding Walker firing at officers from his car. He also underlined that there was no justification for the victim's violent death.
The shooting was the latest in the wave of police brutality against Black people ravaging the United States. Critics highlight the racism and arbitrariness of the crimes. The most notorious crime was the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which led to nationwide and global protests decrying police brutality and racial inequality.
Akron NAACP led a peaceful protest at city hall, with hundreds taking to the streets in the streets of the city. They were carrying "Black Lives Matter" flags and chanting "We are done dying!" and "Justice for Jayland".
It is unclear how many bullets wound Walker sustained, but the body camera view shows police firing dozens of rounds at him until his death. However, the medical examiner is still determining how many of the 60 wounds were entrance and exit wounds, Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett said.
The eight officers directly involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, he revealed.
Reporters demanded evidence that Walker had fired a gun from his car, and Mylett responded with an argument many found to be "lackluster". He said police had returned to the area where they believe Walker had fired from his car after the incident and found a bullet casing "consistent with a firearm that Mr. Walker had in his vehicle."
Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting a probe of the shooting and is yet to confirm any of these details.
Racism against black people manifested by police brutality is highly rampant in the United States, and the assailant police officers rarely face any repercussions.
Read next: Former Prosecutor in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Indicted
Earlier this month, Michigan police officer Christopher Schurr shot a Black man - Patrick Lyoya - following a traffic stop.
Schurr, a white Grand Rapids police officer, faces a single count of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, prosecutor Christopher Becker indicated.
