After being acquitted by a special grand jury, a police review finds eight officers justified in their fatal shooting of Jayland Walker

AKRON, OH - An internal investigation surrounding the fatal officer-involved shooting of 25-year-old Jayland Walker is complete and according to CBS News, the Akron Police Department (APD) found all eight officers to have been in compliance with department policies. 

Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett completed his review approximately seven months after a special grand jury found that the eight officers' use of deadly force was legally justified and did not warrant filing criminal charges. 

In his executive summar, Mylett wrote, "The most important and significant question that needs to be answered is whether the officers' use of deadly force on June 27, 2022, was in accordance with APD policies. In my opinion, the use of deadly force was in compliance with the policies of the City of Akron Police Department.

"The special grand jury seated on April 17, 2023, found that the involved officers' use of deadly force on June 27, 2022, did not warrant the filing of criminal charges. I believe this decision was predicated on the use of force being objectively reasonable based on the facts and evidence presented to them by the Attorney General's Special Prosecutor."

Walker, a resident of Akron, Ohio, was pulled over just after midnight on June 27, 2022, for minor equipment and traffic violations. According to police who were on scene, Walked fled and fired a shot from his car less than a minute into the pursuit. 

A week after the incident, APD released body camera footage showing Walker being shot by the officers. Police recovered a handgun, loaded magazine and a wedding ring on the driver's seat of Walker's car.

Mylett said that once Walker shot at the officers from his vehicle, the situation "dramatically changed from a routine traffic stop to a significant public safety and officer safety issue." He also described the incident as "very fluid and very dangerous."

Mylett also pointed to the fact that Walker was wearing a ski mask "on a warm June night," refusing multiple verbal commands to show his hands, and reaching into this waistband before raising his arm in a shooting posture." Mylett wrote, "This caused officers to believe he hwas still armed and intended on firing upon officers. Officers then fired to protect themselves."

The body camera footage reportedly shows officers chasing Walker for about 10 seconds before firing at him from multiple directions. The shots lasted for about six or seven seconds. In his review, Mylett cited the use of deadly force being justified when an officer is facing imminent risk of serious bodily harm or death, adding, "while certainly tragic ... I find that the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable."

Walker's family described his death as "the brutal and senseless shooting of a man who was unarmed att he time and whose fiancée recently died." After the special grand jury's decision to acquit the officers of criminal charges, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said that it was critical to remember that Walker had fired at police and that he "shot first."