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As the late Jayland Walker’s family demands answers from Akron police officers who shot their son – Bobby DiCello, the lawyer representing the family has given his report about the incident.
Jayland Walker’s demise have also sparked small protests in Akron beginning on Wednesday, with many likening the incident to several high-profile police killings of Black people in the US in recent years.
Akron protest Saturday over police shooting death of Jayland Walker is growing… https://t.co/vQaGrU57tE
— Amanda Garrett (@agarrettABJ) July 2, 2022
Bobby DiCello: Lawyers report on how Jayland Walker, 25, was shot by police
Lawyer Bobby DiCello told the Akron Beacon Journal that it is believed police fired as many as 90 shots at Walker, with his office’s investigation suggesting Walker suffered “60 to 80 wounds”, although he noted a single bullet can cause multiple wounds.
The lawyer, Bobby DiCello, reviewed footage of the shooting on Thursday.
His legal team also visited the medical examiner’s office on Friday and reviewed the autopsy, which has not been finalized. Mr. DiCello said it showed that Mr. Walker had been struck at least 60 times.
The Summit County Medical Examiner could not immediately be reached on Saturday.
“I’ve been a trial lawyer for 22 years and I’ve never seen anything remotely close to what that video is going to show,” Mr. DiCello said of the footage to be released. He said eight officers were involved in the shooting, though the authorities did not specify a number.
Mr. DiCello said that he saw no evidence in the video of Mr. Walker moving in a way that would “put them in fear” or require them to shoot.
“I’ve met personally with the chief and he has told me that he hasn’t found that evidence,” Mr. DiCello said. He said that the police chief told him that moments before the shooting began, two officers tried to use stun guns on Mr. Walker and missed.
Mr. DiCello said that the parking lot Mr. Walker ran into was large, empty and did not have places for him to hide. He said Mr. Walker was not gesturing in a threatening way when the shooting began.
“Imagine a person running away and starting to turn to look back behind them as one is running and it’s at that point that the gunshots erupt,” Mr. DiCello said.
Mr. DiCello also raised questions about the police report’s narrative that Mr. Walker had fired a gun while driving away from officers.
“The rear windshield is intact, the front windshield is intact and all side windows are intact,” he said. “There’s no call, there’s no report that we’ve seen and there’s been no mention by the chief in personal discussions with him that a gun was seen outside the car, waving at or being pointed at anyone.”
Mr. Walker had an unspecified gun in the car, but he was not carrying that, or anything else, when police chased him on foot, Mr. DiCello said.
The officers involved in Walker’s killing have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, with the mayor of Akron and the city’s police chief set to give an update on the incident on Sunday.
