Eight months later, it’s still the same. Akron police officersAfter a car chase and foot pursuit, Jayland Walker (25-year-old Black) was shot dead by dozens of bullets. Voters approved the creation of a permanent police oversight board as well as a police auditor.
The Tuesday measure that was approved goes beyond the plan for additional oversight. Akron City CouncilIn September, it was authorized. According to backers, the civilian oversight board will function more independently of elected officials.
Protests following Walker’s suicide this summer inspired the creation of an independent oversight body.
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Demonstrators gather in front of Akron City Hall, Ohio to protest Jayland Walker’s shooting by police on July 3, 2022.
(MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images
An initial Walker was autopsiedAfter two officers tried to stop Walker’s car for minor equipment violations, he was fired upon multiple times. Police said that Walker refused to stop, and that a shot was fired at his car within seconds of the pursuit.
Walker was chased by the officers, and Walker eventually stopped and fled. Ignoring officers’ commands, he ran into an adjacent parking lot where he was killed in a hail of police gunfire, police body camera video shows. Walker was considered a “deadly danger” by police. A handgun and a wedding ring were found on the driver’s seat of his car.
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The new oversight panel will hire a police auditor who will have authority to audit police activity and policies, access records and investigate police behavior as long it doesn’t conflict with the police union contract or constitutional rights.
