The Ohio police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker turned off the audio on their body cameras shortly after the shooting, newly released video shows.
After a car chase on June 27, Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot 46 times by Akron police.
According to body-camera footage obtained by the Akron Beacon Journal, eight officers who fired their weapons during the shooting were instructed to leave the area after the incident. The officers can then be seen standing in a circle and talking. However, what they were discussing could not be heard because the audio was turned off.
“After they shoot and end the life of Pam Walker’s son, they turn off their mics. They turn off their cameras. What did they say? What did they do?” Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello said at a press conference on Tuesday. “They’ll come up with a reason why they could turn off the cameras. But probe, ask those questions. In the face of this insult, we’re still here.”
According to the family’s attorney, the Akron police department lacked transparency by only making partial body-camera footage available of the incident before the Beacon Journal requested the full video. He also called on the police department to issue a public apology to the family.
“Do you guys understand that every time I come up and our team gathers, [Walker’s mother] Pam goes through a living nightmare?” DiCello said.
Following the fatal police incident, activists demanded that the Akron Police Department stop using force against protestors and establish an independent citizen oversight board for the force.
After a traffic stop turned pursuit, Walker was unarmed when police shot and killed him on June 27. Body camera footage made public by the city, eight officers started shooting at him as he was fleeing.
Officials said they attempted to pull Walker over for traffic and equipment violations. He allegedly refused to stop, which led to a chase that ended with his death. According to ABC News, a gun was later recovered inside the car, but Walker was unarmed when he was shot.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s probe into the incident is ongoing.