The family of Jayland Walker has filed a federal lawsuit seeking at least $45 million in damages — or “$1 million for each bullet that struck [him]” during his deadly confrontation with Ohio police officers last year.
The lawsuit, filed in Ohio federal court Friday, takes aim at Akron and city officials — including Mayor Daniel Horrigan and Chief of Police Stephen Mylett — as well as the eight officers involved in a chase that culminated in Walker’s death.
In the early hours of June 27, 2022, authorities attempted to pull Walker over for a traffic violation, but the 25-year-old Black man refused to stop, according to a state investigation. This sparked a chase, during which Walker fired a single gunshot from inside his car before exiting his vehicle and fleeing on foot.
When he refused to put his hands up and appeared to reach into his waistband, officers fired nearly 100 bullets at Walker in less than 7 seconds, according to investigators. An autopsy later revealed Walker had 46 bullet wounds or graze injuries.
Walker’s death sparked backlash across the Akron community, which was only further fueled when a grand jury declined to indict the unidentified officers.
According to the lawsuit, responding authorities violated Walker’s rights to freedom from excessive force under the Fourth Amendment, especially given the fact that he was unarmed at the time he was shot. His firearm was recovered from his vehicle following the deadly chase on foot.
The lawsuit claims the officers’ response was the result of a “culture of violence and racism at the City of Akron’s Police Department.”
The lawsuit further alleges that for years, and without consequences, the city of Akron, Horrigan and Mylett have knowingly allowed officers to engage in “violent behavior” that “disproportionately involves African Americans.” It cites several incidents dating back to 1998, when a newsletter disseminated in the police department repeatedly refers to Akron residents as animals.
“Jayland Walker’s death has been mischaracterized as his fault,” Bobby DiCello, an attorney for the Walker family, said in a press conference Friday, calling that mischaracterization “repugnant.”