Police have released images from the body camera showing the time a black man was shot 60 times after fleeing a traffic stop.
Eight police officers in Akron, Ohio, were involved in the shooting of 25-year-old Jayland Walker last week after a chase by car and on foot.
Police say they believed Walker was armed at the time he was shot, but the family’s attorney said his team has seen no evidence that Walker fired a gun and that camera footage police body showed him running back to officers when they shot him. .
Officers played several videos at a press conference, one of which said it shows a shot from the car driven by Walker that was being chased by police.
Walker jumped out of the car and fled the authorities, the video shows.
Police say he appeared to be heading towards officers, who at the time believed he had a gun.
A gun was later recovered from his car.
Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello had warned the video was “brutal,” in comments published Saturday by the Akron Beacon Journal.
“It’s just in a sprint down when they drop it, I think the count is over 90 shots,” DiCello said.
“Now how many of these lands, according to our research right now, are we receiving details that suggest between 60 and 80 wounds.”
The incident resulted in eight police officers from the city of Akron being placed on paid administrative leave after the deadly encounter.
Image: Police killed Jayland Walker by shooting him dozens of times
At a press conference, moments before the images of the police camera of the fatal incident were shown, Mayor Daniel Horrigan said: “I know this is a sad occasion for all of us and for all the city The city weeps with you.
“The video you’re about to watch is heartbreaking and it’s very hard to watch and I have several questions myself.”
A lawyer for Walker’s family said his relatives feared the protests in response to the murder could turn violent.
In its initial statement last week, Akron’s police department said its officers “tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation” around 12:30 p.m. Monday.
The force said the driver refused to stop and officers chased him, and police reported that “a firearm had been thrown from the suspicious vehicle.”
Police said Walker jumped out of his moving car and officers continued their chase on foot.
“The suspect’s actions made the officers perceive that he posed a deadly threat to them,” the force said.
“In response to this threat, officers fired their firearms and beat the suspect.”
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting was the latest in a series of murders of black men by law enforcement in the U.S., including the 2020 assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis that sparked global protests.