Hundreds of people protested on Sunday (3) after the release of videos showing eight police officers shooting a black man in the city of Akron, in the state of Ohio, in the US.
The body of Jayland Walker, 25, was found with 60 bullet wounds. Last Monday (27), security agents tried to arrest him for a traffic violation, and, after a car chase that lasted several minutes, the man jumped out of the vehicle and tried to flee on foot.
At this moment, he is hit by the officers with dozens of shots.
Another recording, according to local police, shows a shot fired from the car driven by Walker. So when the man leaves the vehicle, the corporation says, the officers would have thought he was armed. Later, a weapon was seized from the car, but at the time of the escape on foot, the man was unarmed.
Pressed to present evidence that Walker fired from the car, Police Chief Stephen Mylett said investigators found a bullet casing similar to the gun found in the vehicle.
The Ohio Office of Criminal Investigation has opened an investigation into the case and has not confirmed any of these claims. Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello expressed concern about the police’s claim that the man shot officers and emphasized that there was no justification for the victim’s death. “They want to turn you into a masked monster with a gun.”
Like the city’s mayor, Dan Horrigan, DiCello urged protesters to be peaceful during the protests and added that the Walker family’s desire is to avoid further violence.
On Sunday afternoon, the anti-racist movement NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) led a protest in front of the Akron City Hall building. Hundreds of protesters marched on the streets of the city of about 200,000 people, holding Black Lives Matter flags and chanting slogans such as “no more dying” and “justice for Jayland”.
The number of bullets that hit Walker is still uncertain, but videos released by police show officers shooting him dozens of times. The coroner responsible for the case analyzes how many of the 60 injuries found on the body were caused by the entry and exit of ammunition.
The corporation also claimed that police officers tried to provide first aid to the black man after he was shot. Walker, however, was pronounced dead at the scene. The eight agents involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave.
The incident is the latest in a string of police killings of people of color across the US, including the death of George Floyd, which sparked acts against police brutality and racial injustice.
