Officers shot and killed Jaland Walker, an African-American man in Ohio, shooting him dozens of times as he ran away[/B] after being stopped for a traffic violation, his family's attorney said, citing video from a camera brought in by the officers that will be released today.
In statements to the Akron Beacon Journal, Bobby DiCello called the video "cruel" and added that Walker's relatives are concerned that violent protests may break out.
This incident is the latest in a series of killings of young African-American men by police officers in the United States.
"We are preparing for the community response and the one message we have is that the family doesn't need more violence," DiCello said."
Police in Akron, Ohio, have said that 25-year-old Walker shot the officers who were chasing him and plan to release video from the officers' cameras after a news conference today. A march is scheduled a few hours later.
"Protesting is a way to cry," said Roderick Pounds, pastor of Akron Baptist Church in Akron during a prayer service yesterday, Saturday, after he was allowed to view the video.
Pounds declined to describe in detail "the revealing video that the world is about to see," but called its contents "shocking," noting that it shows Walker was not a threat when he was shot by police officers. The pastor even called it a "massacre."
"It's barbaric," Pounds stressed, speaking to local TV station WEWS-TV. "You'll see it tomorrow."
According to authorities, the incident began when officers tried to stop Walker for a traffic violation Monday morning. Walker tried to flee, according to the Akron Police Department, which added that officers cited a gun that discharged from his car.
After several minutes Walker got out of his vehicle and began running, and officers chased him on foot and shot him, explaining that he posed a "deadly threat," according to a police statement Tuesday. Walker died at the scene.
DiCello and his team pointed out that they have seen no evidence that Walker fired the shots, and police video shows him running away with his back turned to the officers when they shot him.
"He was running when they shot him, I believe I counted more than 90 shots," DiCello stressed. "Now, how many of those bullets hit him, according to our investigation right now we have information that says 60 to 80 wounds."
It's not clear how many bullets hit Walker because bullets cause trauma when they enter and when they exit the body, he explained.
WJW-TV reported that the coroner's preliminary report said Walker suffered multiple bullet wounds to his head, chest and legs and that a gun was found in a vehicle, though it did not specify which vehicle.
Pounds said Walker "did not have a gun when he was shot. It was in his car."
Officers involved in the case were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the judicial investigation.
Walker's fiancee, the Beacon Journal reported, was killed in a car crash last month.
Source: protothema.gr
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