Jayland Walker was 'great person' who was grieving his 'soul mate,' family told BCI

In the two weeks after his death, people who knew Jayland Walker best said he was a good person and getting involved in a police pursuit was not like him.

“The only thing he may have gotten probably is a speeding ticket,” Pamela Walker, Jayland's mother, told an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent two days after Akron police officers fatally shot him following a car and foot chase. “It's not in his nature or the way he grew up to even be mean or, or any kind a way but respectful.”

BCI investigators spoke with people who knew Walker in their efforts to piece together what happened and why. Written summaries and recordings of those interviews were included in a file of investigative materials the Ohio Attorney General's Office released Monday, shortly after it was announced that a Summit County grand jury had declined to indict all eight officers involved in shooting Walker on June 27.

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Although his mother and sister, Jada Walker, told the BCI investigator he did not seem especially upset or depressed, much less suicidal, they did acknowledge that his fiancée, Jaymeisha Beasley, had been killed in a traffic crash in late May.

In response to the special agent mentioning that Jayland did not have any prior criminal history, Jada Walker said her 25-year-old brother was "just an overall great person, you know, and I may sound biased, as it's my brother, but really, you know, he's always had a good head on his shoulders.”

She said Jayland and Beasley had been together since high school and he had proposed to her in March 2021. Jada said Jayland wore a wedding ring all the time.

“And, you know, I can only imagine what goes through someone's mind like that when they lose, you know, say their significant other or even in this case you figure a soul mate, but throughout this time, you know, he never brought anything like that to our attention," Jada Walker told the investigator.

Loreal Redrick, Beasley's sister and Walker's future sister-in-law, told a BCI investigator she had been communicating with Walker by phone and text because she knew he was going through a difficult time following his fiancée's death. She said she believed he put on a show of being strong when he was around others but struggled when alone.

Redrick said she believed if Walker had planned on ending his life, he would not have done it himself.

"I believe that taking (police) on that chase was like, 'Ok, I’m going to give them a reason,' you know," said Redrick. "I believe that he was like in the car like, 'Jaymeisha I’m coming.' You know, like, 'you don’t have to be without me'…I assume that he was talking to my sister them four minutes of that drive. I believe that he was like, you know, 'I’m coming,' you know, and I just believe that if my sister was here, it wouldn’t have been that way.”

When did Jayland Walker's family last speak with him?

Investigators say police officers saw a muzzle flash from a gun during the pursuit, indicating Walker had fired a gun out his car's window. No gun was found on him after he ran from his vehicle and was shot, but a handgun was found in his vehicle, police said.

Investigators said Walker, who reportedly knew little about guns, bought the gun not long before his death. Jada and Pamela Walker said Jayland did not carry a gun, at least not as far as they knew.

Jada said she last spoke with Jayland the day before the pursuit. The special agent said Jayland may have fled from a traffic stop in New Franklin, but Jada said Jayland had not said anything about that.

She said that at the time of the pursuit that led to his death, he may have been delivering for DoorDash.

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“When we last seen him, and normally this is just how he was," said Jada, "he always would just, you know, see about us and our grandmother, and then after that, you know, he would just stick to his DoorDash, and, you know, DoorDash runs pretty late, as I understand, so he would just go as late as, you know, the cutoff time. But yeah, that Sunday, that was the last time we had spoke with him, and that was his, you know, plan, just to DoorDash for the day.”

BCI said its investigation determined that Jayland had been driving around the streets of Akron prior to the pursuit, but he had not been working at the time.

'Pain in his eyes'

BCI investigators also spoke with individuals who showed up as contacts in Walker's phone.

Redrick, his fiancée's sister, said her father had purchased a gun for Walker and Beasley, which was kept at their Akron home, but Walker had never mentioned purchasing another gun to her. She said Walker had never expressed any animosity toward the police or any authority.

She also said that after Beasley's death, Walker put a lot of effort into staying busy. She believed that if he did not, thoughts would well up and it would be too much for him.

"He was so kind and he wouldn’t have hurted a fly," she said. "And I just but, like, I just I would rather his story be told as like he was hurting, than he was this thug, you know, and bad man. I would rather it be like he was grieving over the loss of his wife.”

BCI investigators conducted briefer interviews with a number of other people who were contacts in Walker's phone, primarily relatives of Walker or Beasley. Generally, they said he was a good person who was hurting over Beasley's death, but he seemed to be coping.

Deonte Walker, Jayland's cousin, said Jayland, was a “loving person who wanted to see everybody do great.” Tanikqua Lovette Culver, a cousin of Beasley's, said she could see “pain in his eyes" but had not believed Walker would do anything drastic. Desiree Walker, a cousin of Beasley's, said that when she would ask Jayland how he was doing, he would say things like, “Just trying to stay busy,” and “I’m cool sis, I’m cool.”

Investigators also spoke with a man and woman who owned the house Walker and Beasley were renting, as well as a loan officer, who were contacts in Walker's phone. All said that after Beasley died, Walker expressed a desire to purchase the house and they all felt that it was in honor of Beasley's desire to buy the home.

The landlords said they did not know Walker well, but he seemed sad after Beasley's death. The loan officer said Walker was always very polite, including when she broke the news that he would not be able to get the financing for the purchase.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jayland Walker was 'great person' who was grieving, family told BCI