Grand jury to determine if cops will be charged in Walker death

Jayland Walker reportedly had no alcohol or narcotics in his system when his body was riddled with 46 entrance and graze wounds last June, sparking days of protests across Akron, Ohio.

A grand jury in Akron, Ohio, will soon decide whether authorities should file charges against the eight officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last summer.

Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, was killed on June 27, 2022, after an attempted traffic stop and foot chase. According to NBC News, Akron Police Department officers “reported a firearm being discharged from the suspect vehicle” during the pursuit.

“The family of Jayland Walker urges you to be mindful of how important it is that in America, everyone has equal access to justice and a fair process,” the Walker family’s attorney Bobby DiCello said in a statement regarding Monday’s convening of a grand jury. “They are not advocating for anything more than that.”

Akron police officers claimed they started shooting after deploying stun guns ineffectively to stop Walker. Police body camera footage showed multiple officers chasing him, shouting orders for him to stop.

In a video update, authorities said a revolver, a loaded magazine and what seemed to be a gold wedding band were “in plain view” inside Walker’s car, on the driver’s seat.

Lisa Kohler, Summit County’s medical examiner, said Walker had 46 entrance and graze wounds and ruled his death a homicide. His right iliac artery, lungs and heart were all damaged by gunfire, she said, and no traces of alcohol or narcotics were found in his system.

Walker reportedly sustained 17 gunshot wounds to his pelvis and upper legs, 15 to his torso, eight to his arms and right hand, five to his lower right leg, knees and right foot and one to his face, dying from internal injuries caused by blood loss. Kohler, who called his injuries “devastating,” said she could not establish whether a particular bullet killed him.

Last year, the Fraternal Order of Police in Akron declared that the investigation would confirm that the officers’ actions and the number of rounds they fired were appropriate.

“Officers reasonably believed that Mr. Walker presented an immediate threat of serious physical harm or death,” the statement said, maintaining they lawfully “discharged their weapons.”

Law enforcement officials have not released the names of the eight officers involved, but seven reportedly are white. They were on paid administrative leave after the shooting but returned to work in “non-uniform roles” in October, a move Walker family attorneys deemed callous.

The decision — which Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett conceded would disappoint some — was announced amid reported staffing constraints.

Walker’s death sparked days of protests, prompting the mayor to issue a 9 p.m. curfew for downtown Akron after alleging that some turned violent. A city spokesperson said the Summit County Courthouse enhanced security for the forthcoming hearing, including adding steel barricades to the building.

“While boarded windows will certainly be the most visible signs of preparation,” the spokesperson said, “it is the ongoing conversations and relationship building which have undeniably been the most important preparation for whatever the grand jury decides.”

A “heartbroken” Walker reportedly was attempting to move on after the passing of his fiancée, Jaymeisha Beasley, just weeks earlier. Shalesa Beasley, Jaymeisha Beasley’s mother, said the couple began dating when they were both 15 and became engaged a year before Walker’s death.

Walker and his fiancée reportedly “had a great relationship” and were in the process of planning their wedding and purchasing a home before she was killed in a hit-and-run incident on May 28 in southwest Ohio.

Beasley, 27, was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown onto the freeway when a semi-truck rear-ended the van in which she was riding. She was struck by an approaching vehicle.

At his burial, Walker’s cousin Robin Elerick said he was having a “really, really hard time” in the weeks preceding his death, recalling instances when they would sit silently and cry.

The grand jury for Summit County began being seated on Monday, though it is unclear when they will publicize a decision.

DiCello noted that while the justice process is already “stacked against them,” Walker’s family “will continue to fight for the justice that they and Jayland deserve.”

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