The names of the eight officers now under internal investigation in the death of 25-year-old Jayland Walker will not be released due to threats, city officials said Tuesday, but the officers will remain on administrative duty.
A special grand jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court on Monday returned a no-bill on all eight officers, which means the jurors found the actions of the officers were justified.
Akron police also will now conduct an internal investigation to determine if the officers violated any department regulations. That investigation is just starting now, city leaders said in a press conference.
“This is not the end,” Mayor Dan Horrigan said, calling for continued patience through the process and for any response to the grand jury’s announcement to be peaceful.
“I will make the same ask of residents that I did back in July which is to call for peace in our community,” Horrigan said.
Horrigan also responded to calls for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, saying the city would comply with any such investigation.
The city leaders expressed their thoughts were with the Walker family, calling Walker’s death a tragedy for all involved. The mayor and police chief said they had not spoken with the family since the decision but would welcome the chance to do so.
Walker was fatally shot more than 40 times by eight Akron police officers on June 27, 2022, after a car and foot chase for an equipment violation. He was unarmed during the shooting, but police said he fired a shot from his vehicle less than a minute into the chase. A handgun was found in his vehicle.
Walker’s death has led to multiple protests and arrests since as demonstrators demand justice and accountability for the eight officers involved in his death.
Police Chief Steve Mylett said in the press conference that the department had already made changes in the wake of Walker’s death, including a procedural change around the use of handcuffs that had not been previously announced.
Mylett said the department “updated our training surrounding handcuffing suspects.”
“That practice now encompasses removal of handcuffs when an officer determines a threat is no longer present,” Mylett said.
The department has also “begun reviewing” its policy on police pursuits “to ensure our policy aligns with current best practices in policing.”
The department had already announced future investigations would be automatically handed over to the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which conducted the investigation that was presented to the grand jury in the Walker case.
The citizens of Akron also voted to created a citizen review board, which Horrigan said will play some role in the internal investigation into Walker’s death.
Mylett said the names of the officers, however, would not be released.
“As advised by the law department, we will not be releasing the involved officers names as the threats made against them are still believed to be active, viable and credible,” he said. “For their safety and the safety of their families, we will not release their identities.”
The report from the internal investigation, however, will be provided to the police auditor for review and made public, “given the magnitude of this incident,” Mylett said.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Clarence Tucker reiterated the call for peaceful protests and encouraged Akron residents to push for positive change in all facets of the community, including economic and education inequalities.
“While the work ahead is hard, I know that our community will rise to the occasion as they always have before,” he said.
Mylett noted “tensions are high” and that “as a community, we must choose a path forward.”
“We can choose a path towards healing, or we can choose a path towards destruction,” he said. “My sincere prayer and hope is that we choose a path of healing.”