By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor
On June 27, Akron Ohio Police shot and killed Jayland Walker, 22, after a traffic stop and a foot chase. At the time of this writing, it is unknown whether Walker was armed.
It is unknown why Walker was initially stopped by police. His family’s attorney told the media Walker was hit over 60 times. Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler has ruled Walker’s death a homicide and a full autopsy is expected to be released in the coming days.
Cleveland’s WKYC was given permission to view autopsy photos of Walker’s body. The local TV station reported that Walker’s body was “riddled” with bullets. Protestors blocked traffic in Akron near the police headquarters on June 30.
Akron canceled their annual Rib, White and Blue festival for the July 4 weekend in response to the deadly shooting of Walker. On June 30, Tymeca Cohen, Jayland Walker’s sister was seen holding a sign demanding justice for her brother outside the Akron Police Department’s headquarters.
On social media, Bishop Talbert Swan recounted the times when unarmed Black men have been killed by police over the years. “Unarmed: Amadou Diallo 23, 41 bullets; Sean Bell 23, 50 bullets; LaQuan McDonald 17, 16 bullets; Jayland Walker 25, 90 bullets. Armed: Dylan Roof 21, killed 9, 0 bullets, James Holmes 24, killed 12, 0 bullets; Robert Long 21, killed 8, 0 bullets; Payton Gendron 18, killed 10, 0 bullets,” Swan wrote.
“Four armed white men + 39 murdered people = 0 bullets fired by police and 4 LIVING white murderers,” Swan continued.
“Police managed to arrest a young white man armed with an AR15 and dripping with the blood of Black people he just murdered at a #Buffalo supermarket, yet pumped 90 bullets into a young Black man over a traffic violation in #Akron,” Swan concluded.
More protests are expected in Akron over the weekend.
Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke
The post Unarmed Driver, Jayland Walker, 22, Killed by Police After Traffic Stop appeared first on BlackPressUSA.
