Police have released body camera footage of the moments that led to officers shooting dead an unarmed black man in Akron, Ohio.
Jayland Walker, 25, was killed June 27 in a pursuit that began with an attempted traffic stop.
Authorities told a news conference on Sunday that police involved believed Walker had shot them earlier from a vehicle and were preparing to shoot again.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired by the eight officers involved, but Walker suffered more than 60 injuries.
A lawyer for Walker’s family said officers continued shooting even after he was on the ground.
Walker was unarmed when he fled his vehicle and was pursued by officers, the attorney added.
Police said a handgun, loaded magazine and wedding ring were later found in the seat of the car.
“An officer on body camera footage can be heard saying he still has a pulse,” Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said at a news conference. “As the officers were about to put him in a police cruiser to get them to the hospital as quickly as possible, Akron firefighters arrived on the scene, they took over and unfortunately Mr. Walker tragically died at the scene.”
In a statement shared with reporters on Sunday, the local police union said officers believed there was an immediate threat of serious injury and believed their actions and the number of shots would be deemed justified. according to their training and protocols. The union said officers were cooperating with the investigation.
Walker’s family are calling for accountability but also for peace, their lawyers said. One of the lawyers, Bobby DiCello, called the police flurry of gunfire excessive and unreasonable and said police handcuffed Walker before trying to administer first aid.
“How it came to this with a lawsuit is beyond me,” DiCello said.
He said Walker’s family did not know why he fled from the police. Walker was mourning the recent death of his fiancée, but his family had no indication of concern beyond that, and he was not a criminal, DiCello said.
“I hope we will remember that when Jayland drove through that parking lot, he was unarmed,” DiCello said.
He said he didn’t know if the gold ring found near the gun in the car belonged to Walker.
euronews Gt