A new set of body camera videos have been released to various news outlets showing the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Walker was shot 46 times by Akron police, and the new videos show the officers trying to provide aid to Walker but also turning their microphones and cameras off.
According to the video, obtained by the Akron Beacon Journal, the officers shout to one another a few minutes after the shooting stops to make sure they weren’t injured. Obviously, none were hurt. Then, officers ask where Walker’s firearm was (to which it’s still unclear if he was armed) and moved in to handcuff him. Per the video, the officers roll Walker to his side and one notes the shots up and down his back. Among the eight officers, they ask if they need a tourniquet, call for more light and call for gloves.
When the officers began to leave the scene, one commanded, “Go blue,” to the group and they muted their microphones while the video still rolled. Another ordered a woman officer to turn off her camera.
More on the new footage from ABC News:
“After they shoot and end the life of Pam Walker’s son, they turn off their mics. They turn off their cameras. What did they say? What did they do?” Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello said at a press conference on Tuesday. “They’ll come up with a reason why they could turn off the cameras. But probe, ask those questions. In the face of this insult, we’re still here.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s probe into the incident is ongoing.
“Why didn’t we hear that microphones were turned off? ... This was all known. This was all known to the people who put on that press conference,” Ken Abbarno, a family attorney for the Walkers, said at the press conference. “How unfair is that? How unfair is that to you? How unfair is that to the Walker family?”
“Do you guys understand that every time I come up, and our team gathers, [Walker’s mother] Pam goes through a living nightmare?” DiCello said.
Following the shooting, supporters, activists and family members took to the streets demanding accountability. As some demonstrations resulted in a violent clash between police and citizens, Walker’s supporters agreed to calm things down per the city’s request. However, the city and police department are accused of inciting most of the conflict.
“We have nonviolent acts of civil disobedience happening in our community and those people participating in those non-violent acts are being harassed and targeted,” said Rev. Raymon Greene Jr, executive director of Freedom BLOC. “Stand up to our mayor, to our police chief and say that we’re no longer going to accept this murderous gang of the APD riding around our city terrorizing citizens of Akron.”
Judi Hill, president of the Akron NAACP, said with the help of local organizations and Black elected officials, they’ve proposed legislation for an independent citizen oversight board for police as well as guidelines to improve community-police relations.