‘REASONABLE’

Officers Who Shot Jayland Walker Cleared After Internal Investigation

An internal investigation conducted by the Akron Police Department determined that the officers did not violate police protocol.

The eight officers who shot and killed 25-year-old Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio last summer did not violate police department policy, an internal investigation released Tuesday determined.

The case triggered widespread public protest.

The incident began as an otherwise routine traffic stop that escalated once Walker tried to flee in his car. He then jumped out of the vehicle in a ski mask and ran toward a nearby parking lot, where police opened fire.

Walker was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police at the time said they believed Walker was turning around as he ran to fire a gun at them, although a state investigation later found that Walker was unarmed as he ran from the police on foot. The investigation did find that Walker fired a gun out of his car window when he initially fled—and the gun was recovered from his car after Walker was killed.

“I found that the facts and circumstances of this tragic shooting show that the officers had an objectively reasonable belief that Mr. Walker was armed and by his conduct presented an imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death to them and/or their fellow officers,” Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said in the department investigation’s summary.

In the wake of the incident, the eight officers involved were placed on administrative leave, but then returned to desk duty before the police department fully returned them to their regular duties. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted an investigation that it presented to a special grand jury, which decided not to criminally indict the officers.

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Chaya TongBreaking News Intern

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