The family and legal team of Jayland Walker, the unarmed Black man fatally shot by Akron Police in June, is calling for more transparency from the city and police department about how police officers acted in the minutes following the shooting.
Walker suffered more than 40 bullet or graze wounds from the shooting, which occurred after a car and foot chase June 27. Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett held a press conference July 3 to release some bodycam footage of the incident.
The Akron Beacon Journal obtained additional bodycam footage through a public records request and subsequent lawsuit that reportedly shows the officers turned off their microphones following the shooting.
In a Tuesday news conference, Walker family lead attorney Bobby DiCello questioned what was said when the mics were off and why that information was not released sooner.
“What do they say? What did they do? Think about that,” DiCello said.
“They'll come up with a reason why they could've turned the mics off. They'll come up with a reason why they could turn off the cameras. But probe. Ask those questions,” he added.
The Beacon Journal reported Friday that members of the department are permitted to turn off their cameras and microphones in certain situations, such as when “citizen contact” is over, according to Capt. Dave Laughlin.
DiCello disagrees with this procedure.
“We take issue with the need to discontinue any camera or audio under any circumstances at this point,” he said.
DiCello is also seeking a private meeting with the city and a public apology.
"We call them heroes, don't we?" DiCello said, regarding police. "What is heroic about turning off your camera, Superman? What is heroic about turning off your microphone, Wonder Woman?"
Also at the conference were representatives from community groups leading the charge in calling for justice, Judi Hill of the Akron NAACP and Rev. Ray Greene Jr. of Freedom BLOC.
On Tuesday, they turned in more than 7,000 signatures on a petition to put a civilian police review board charter amendment on the ballot, Hill said.
The proposed review board would review complaints against Akron Police and issue disciplinary recommendations.
“It won’t bring back Jayland Walker. It won’t bring back the other individuals that have lost their lives or have lost their families because of police injustice, but we believe this is a step in the right direction,” Hill said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Dan Horrigan announced Tuesday that he will propose a different citizens oversight board that would review policing policies and focus on community outreach when city council reconvenes in September.
Spokespeople from the Akron mayor's office and police department did not immediately return requests for comment.
