Akron arrests 50, declares curfew after Jayland Walker protests turn violent

The family of Jayland Walker again appealed for peace Monday after sporadic late night violence left downtown Akron businesses cleaning up substantial broken glass.

Mayor Dan Horrigan declared a state of emergency, issued a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for a wide area surrounding downtown and canceled three planned city fireworks shows set for Monday night.

The violence came on a fifth day of what had been peaceful protests since the Akron police shooting of the 25-year-old Walker, a Black man who fled a traffic stop early on June 27. Akron police released body-worn camera footage of the shooting from 13 officers on Sunday showing a barrage of bullets striking Walker after he left his car.

Police announced later Monday that approximately 50 adults were arrested during protests by early Monday. Charges included rioting, failure to disperse and misconduct during an emergency. Those arrested included Akron resident as well as some residents of neighboring cities and counties, the department said in a news release.

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Content warning: View Akron police body-camera videos of shooting

Demetrius Travis Sr., a cousin of Walker, said in a statement Monday that the Walker family doesn't condone the "violent protest."

"We understand people are angry and frustrated not only with (the) senseless killing of our loved one Jayland Walker, but many other senseless killings of people of color at the hands of predominantly white officers across the nation, but please, we ask that you protest peacefully in the fight to get justice for Jayland," Travis said.

Sunday had been a difficult day in the city as people awaited the release of the video knowing it would show Walker being hit by roughly 60 shots. The largest protest crowds and marchers of the week were united in their outrage at Walker's killing but remained peaceful until well after dark.

Around 10 p.m., a large crowd rallied at the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center downtown.  As chants demanding justice for Walker continued, some people began hurling water bottles and other objects at the building.

Trying to keep the peace, protesters called for calm and kicked out a person who was pulling down a street sign.

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"We have to honor the Walker family's wishes," Davontae Winchester, one of many organizers from the marches earlier in the day, said. "If you did not come here to be peaceful and stand in solidarity, this is not the place for you."

The situation grew more hectic as police shot tear gas canisters into crowds of protesters. While fleeing from the justice center and the plumes of smoke, cars began driving on the sidewalk to get around snowplows parked by the city to block off High Street, and protesters launched smoke bombs into the streets.

One protester began using a bat to break windows of the snowplows. Several windows were shattered in the trucks.

With tears streaming down her face and a hand over her heart, longtime Akron resident Lynnette Williams stood under the Akron Civic Theatre's marquee watching the scene.

"I am angry and I am sad, but I don't want violence," she said. "Jayland's mom wanted peace. I never could have imagined this. Not in my Akron."

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Earlier in the day, community members gathered, many huddled together in groups to watch a live 1 p.m. press conference by Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett to discuss Walker's death and review video footage of the shooting.

Akron resident Sandra Dees, whose son, Jordan McCormick, was killed two months ago by police in Texas, almost left the protest when she saw the footage. She is still waiting for the bodycam footage of her son's fatal shooting to be released.

"No mom should have to bury their child," Dees said. "I know what (Jayland's mom) is feeling right now, and she doesn't want people to act out, but the police just keep getting away with doing whatever they want to do."

At 2:30 p.m., hundreds of people gathered outside Quaker Station on Broadway downtown for an Akron NAACP Community Peace Rally.  Many carried homemade signs, and others held black NAACP signs that read #WeAreDoneDying.

"I am tired of 'only if,'" said Judi Hill, president of the Akron NAACP told the crowd. "'If only he had stopped.' ...

"Only if they treated us like humans, we wouldn't have this," she said. "Only if the police had understood there was one person in that car, only if they valued the life of an African American man."

The protests are attracting attention from well outside Akron.

Russel Tee, a prominent TikToker and activist from Virginia, was among the protesters. Tee has participated in similar protests across the country for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others killed by police.

"At this point it's state-sanctioned terrorism," Tee said of Walker's shooting death. "This specifically was an assassination — 90 shots in six seconds, 60 of them hit him. He never had a chance to live."

By morning's light, substantial damage was visible.

About 25 windows were broken at the AES Building, which houses the Akron Beacon Journal and other companies. Workers from Taylor Cos. of Ohio secured sheets of plywood to the broken windows.

Windows were also broken at DaVinci's Pizza, Cilantro Thai & Sushi Restaurant, the former Karma Kafe and the former downtown Bricco location.

Wyatt Baer, the new owner of DaVinci's Pizza, has only owned the pizza shop since Friday.

The shop has three windows and a door broken out in the back, and a large window broken out in the front. Baer said nothing was taken, but he did find five "rocks/bricks/concrete-type pieces" that were used to break the windows, with glass everywhere.

Baer said he wants people to keep protesting, but "please do it peacefully and without damage to our local community.”

“I understand that it's horrible what happened, and I'm right there with them. I think that there should be protests, and no one should be shot 60 times," he said. "But I don't know why they had to bust in my windows.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jayland Walker shooting: Akron issues curfew after 50 protest arrests