AKRON, Ohio — The family of Jayland Walker is seeking $45 million in damages from the City of Akron. Their attorney said during a press conference that the amount is roughly $1 million for every time Walker was shot.
Walker’s mother was in tears as the lawsuit was announced.
The Walker family is suing the City of Akron nearly a year after Walker was shot and killed by police while running from his car during a chase. He wasn’t armed when he was shot, but a gun was found in his car, and investigators say surveillance video shows him firing a shot from his car during that chase.
The state Attorney General’s office investigated, but a grand jury did not indict any of the officers involved. The lawsuit claims the officers who shot Walker used excessive force, and said there is a culture of violence and racism within APD.
The suit names the city, the eight officers who shot Walker, Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett as defendants.
“The thing that would have avoided this lawsuit, in every situation I can envision, would have been a collaborative dialogue with the city where they worked with us to not only address the changes that need to be made, but invite the family to speak about and take a big part in those changes as well as show some accountability. And in those dialogues, recognize the harm, recognize the total devastation and the destruction they’ve been through and do something about that. Had that happened, we wouldn’t have been here today,” said Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello.
The lawsuit does not name the officers involved in Walker’s death. Those names have not been officially released and the Walker family attorneys don’t want the names of the officers to cause a distraction from their case.
Spectrum News did reach out to the City of Akron for a response. A spokesperson said they do not comment on pending litigation.
