- Family sues Akron and 8 officers who shot Jayland Walker

In June 17, a federal lawsuit was filed by the family of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot dead by eight police officers in Akron, Ohio. The lawsuit seeks at least $45 million in damages, with $1 million for each bullet that hit him. The grand jury had declined to indict the officers, but the family alleges that excessive force was used and sues the officers, the City of Akron, Mayor Daniel Horrigan, and Police Chief Stephen Mylett for systemic misconduct and failures in the department. The police chief and the mayor were not immediately available for comment. The family’s attorney, Bobby DiCello, said that the lawsuit will reveal the “true story” of what happened to Walker that night. The officers pursued Walker on foot after an attempted traffic stop and shot him multiple times, including five times in the back. The police opened fire after mistakenly thinking Walker reached for a gun. Earlier, while driving his car with officers in pursuit, Walker had fired at least one shot at them, but he left the gun in the car when he fled on foot. State law allows officers to use deadly force against a deadly threat to themselves or others. Walker’s death gained national attention and caused tension with police over the killing of another Black man. Recently, police in Minneapolis came under federal oversight after a Department of Justice review found routine use of excessive force against Black and Native American people. The city has not released the names of the officers involved in Walker’s shooting, but a media lawsuit seeking the names is pending before the Ohio Supreme Court.