25-year-old Jayland Walker Killed by Police

By: Jay Yi

Just yesterday in Akron, Ohio, 8 policemen chased down a 25-year-old black man while shooting at him. The man was Jayland Walker, and he was later killed by the police.

Before the shooting, police officers were trying to pull Mr.Walker over because he was violating traffic laws. Jayland refused and continued to drive on, which led to a chase. The chase ultimately led to Walker climbing out of his car and running away unarmed. During the foot chase, police started shooting at him, leading to his death.

When police reviewed body cam videos, they found out that when Jayland was still in his car, there was a muzzle flash of a gun. Police later found out that when he left his car, he also left the gun and his golden wedding ring. Further investigation of the video confirms that Jayland was unarmed when running.

When the police were asked why they started shooting, they responded that, "actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them. In response to this threat, officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect."

After the shooting, there were soon protests along the streets responding to Jayland’s death. The longer the protest lasted, the more people joined. The protests were peaceful in the beginning, but once more people began to join, the group started vandalizing property.

Later, Bobby Dicello, the attorney for the Walker family, pointed out that, "I'm disappointed. They want to turn him into a masked monster with a gun. He wasn't a criminal, he was obviously in pain. He didn't deserve to die." He also said that the important part about the video was that it proved that when Walker was running away, he didn't have a gun, or in other words, he was unarmed.

In the end, the case was posted online for everyone to see and comment on. Soon, the whole nation became outraged. Many have voiced their opinions, including Derrick Johnson, the president of the civil rights organization NAACP, who stated that, "This wasn't self-defense, it wasn't an accident in the heat of the moment, it was murder."