Akron police chief: 'Nothing is jumping out' yet as policy violation in Jayland Walker case
Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said Tuesday he did not immediately see a violation of department policies in the actions of the eight officers who shot 25-year-old Jayland Walker, but he did not rule out the possibility of such a result at the end of the just-launched internal investigation.
"Nothing is jumping out at me right now," Mylett said in an interview with the Beacon Journal. "But there could be, I don't know."
Mylett's interview came less than 24 hours after a Summit County grand jury declined to indict the eight officers for their actions that June night last year. At the time of his interview, Mylett had less than a day to review the state investigative report, noting its summary alone was book length.
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But so far, he said, he didn't see an obvious violation of departmental policies, which would be the last measure of accountability, beyond a possible civil suit or federal involvement, the officers could face after the grand jury declined to indict them.
Walker was shot and killed following a traffic stop early in the morning on June 27. According to the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation's report, he fired a shot at police officers from his vehicle during a pursuit. He fled on foot and was shot 46 times, with eight officers firing a total of 94 bullets.
The police department has faced significant criticism over everything from the initial traffic stop to the number of officers who responded and the number of shots fired into Walker's body. The news of the grand jury's decision was met with deep sadness and anger in many parts of the city. Calls for a U.S. Department of Justice review of the case and of Akron police practices have increased since the grand jury's ruling, including from U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.
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In the interview Tuesday, Mylett begged the community to read the report for themselves, addressed the possibility that Walker was suicidal at the time of the incident, and elaborated on the policy and procedural challenges that have come in the wake of Walker's death.
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The police department's internal investigation officially launched as soon as the grand jury issued its no-bill on an indictment, so Mylett stressed it was just getting underway.
He estimated the process would take at least 60 days but said it could go longer. He clarified the officers were on administrative duty since the incident in June, but he placed them on administrative leave during the grand jury process. They will go back on administrative duty until the internal investigation is completed.
The city's newly created Citizens' Police Oversight Board, approved by voters after Walker's death to provide additional accountability, will have some role in the process, Mylett said. He called the board a "game-changer" and one that he welcomes. But he could not guarantee the board would have a chance to give input before he makes the final call on any possibly discipline for the officers.
"I don't know what their role will be," he said. "But there will be an independent review of our internal investigation outside of the police department."
The case will also be given to a police auditor, who can make a recommendation to Mylett about potential discipline.
Mylett said despite nothing "jumping out" to him at this point as a policy violation, he was not prejudging the case.
"It's going to take a long time to go through everything," Mylett said. "And I'm not prejudging it. No, I'm not. I do think that the grand jury's decision that the officers did not commit any crimes is significant. I do. And that was nine members of Summit County making that decision, not the Akron Police Department."
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Mylett said his first impressions of the report are that it portrays a tragic incident involving a man who was clearly hurting.
Mylett said he wouldn't say for certain Walker's death was "suicide by cop," but said Walker was clearly in pain due to recent deaths in his family, including his fiancée just weeks prior. Mylett cited several interviews with friends and family members in the report that described Walker's mental state in the weeks leading up to his death.
"It is clear by those that were closest to him, that he was in a tremendous amount of pain," Mylett said, adding that he had compassion for Walker and what he had endured.
"Part of the tragedy in this is that Jayland was in such pain that he wanted it to end," Mylett said. "And in doing so, he set in motion a lot of things. A lot of people have been impacted by this. I'm not blaming him. But I will tell you — because when when you're in that level of desperation, I don't think you're really responsible — but a lot of lives have been changed in this."
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At the same time, he said, the narrative out there has been that this was "over a routine traffic stop."
"No, it wasn't," Mylett said. "This started out as a traffic stop, but it turned into an officer safety and public safety and criminal event when he shot at the officers, according to the attorney general. It's a felony of the first degree. They have absolutely no idea what they're dealing with, nothing. They don't know if he had just committed some violent crime. They don't know if there's a person in the backseat tied up, gagged, a domestic violence issue. They don't know, they have no idea. But all they know is what is in front of them. And they are reacting to his actions."
BCI investigators found no evidence that Walker was a suspect in any crime before he was pulled over.
Mylett said the officers did not fire on Walker during the vehicle pursuit or the initial ground pursuit until he "turns real quick."
He said he could not provide an answer on whether the number of bullets — nearly 100 fired in total — was justified until the internal review concludes.
Critics in the community have struggled with how eight officers could each fire between three and 18 shots and each be within the law or departmental policy.
"Each one of us is going to look at the same thing from different lenses," Mylett said.
Mylett doubled down on not releasing the eight officers' names, despite names circulating on social media and accidentally leaked names in the attorney general's presentation of its investigative report. He cited threats that have been made against the officers and their families, and spoke generally about threats against officers on and off duty.
When asked how the public could be assured of accountability without confirmation of the officers' names, Mylett said the grand jury process should assuage that concern.
"They determined no crime was committed," he said. "That's being held accountable. Is it not?"
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The department, he said, has still worked to learn from the case, including modifying practices around use of handcuffs on suspects when there is no longer a threat. Officers on the scene in the Walker case handcuffed him after he was already shot dozens of times. Although a weapon was not found on his body during a quick search, he was still left in the cuffs after he had died.
"One of the things that we got questioned about in the aftermath of the June 27 shooting is, 'Why did you leave him handcuffed?' That was good question," Mylett said. "And that prompted a whole lot of discussions."
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He said it will now be up to officers' discretion to determine when there is no longer a threat, but "if there's no threat present to the officer, take the handcuffs off."
The department is also reviewing its policy on police pursuits. Mylett said he leans more toward a stringent policy with a narrow allowance for chases, but that he would conduct a review and consult other departments and organizations to see if Akron's policy aligns with best practices.
"If it doesn't, we'll make adjustments," he said.
Contact reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police: No obvious policy violations in Jayland Walker death
