US Officers in Jayland Walker Killing Won't Be Charged

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Facts

  • Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost announced Monday that the eight officers who shot and killed 25-year-old Black man Jayland Walker last year won't face charges after an Ohio Grand Jury found they were legally justified in the fatal shooting.1
  • Akron police attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Walker, with police video showing he refused to stop. Officers in pursuit believed that Walker fired a shot at them from the vehicle. After Walker fled the car on foot, officers thought he would fire at them again and thus fired 94 shots, hitting him 46 times.2
  • In his announcement, Yost said Walker did fire at least one shot from the vehicle. However, when the officers fired on Walker, he wasn't armed, as he had left the gun inside the vehicle.3
  • Attorneys for the Walker family have announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against the city later this year. Meanwhile, Mayor Dan Horrigan, urging for peaceful protests, detailed the police department's intention to carry out its own internal review.3
  • This was echoed by Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes of Ohio, who said she would request that the Justice Department also investigate the practices of the Akron Police Department.4

Sources: 1CBS, 2New York Times, 3Reuters, and 4Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by ABC News. Activists and the public won't be deterred, and the police officers responsible for this heinous crime must face accountability. More broadly, there also needs to be drastic changes made to policing and public safety across the nation, or else the cycle of violence will continue as police become increasingly militarized, more prisons are built, and more Black people are incarcerated or murdered.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Akron Beacon Journal. While tragic, the officers who fired on Walker were legally justified in their actions as he posed a deadly threat, as seen by the evidence. Lethal force is sometimes used as a last resort — as was the case here — but it's not the epidemic many claim it to be. In fact, a large majority of officers will begin and end their careers without ever having fired their service weapons.