AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An attorney for the family of Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man killed in a hail of police gunfire last month in Ohio, on Wednesday joined the national NAACP and its Akron branch in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Walker’s death.
Attorney Bobby DiCello made the call while questioning the integrity of the current investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which was asked by Akron officials to examine the June 27 shooting.
A preliminary autopsy shows that Walker was shot at least 40 times by eight Akron police officers who fired dozens of rounds at the end of car and foot pursuit that began with an attempted traffic stop for minor equipment violations.
National NAACP President Derrick Johnson in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last week asked the DOJ to investigate Walker’s death.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office issued a statement after Wednesday’s news conference saying: “BCI shall remain steadfast in our commitment to independent investigations regarding officer involved shootings, and this case is no different.”
An Akron spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.