Rep. Emilia Sykes invites Pamela Walker, mother of Jayland Walker, to State of the Union

U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13) will be joined by the mother of Jayland Walker, the Black man shot and killed by Akron police last year, at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Walker, 25, was shot 46 times by eight officers on June 27 after leading officers on a car chase, during which police say he fired a single shot from his car. Walker was unarmed when he was shot after a short foot chase.

“She experienced what no mother should ever have to go through but has displayed unwavering strength and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity," Sykes said of Pamela Walker. "President Biden and Democrats have taken steps to improve police accountability, but there is still much work to be done to restore trust between police and the communities they serve. I will continue to fight for a criminal justice system that is transparent, accountable, and keeps us all safe.”

Sykes' office described Walker as "a kind, quiet, and thoughtful young family man who regularly spent time with his mother, grandmother, and sister" who was "just beginning to live his life, saving money to become a successful entrepreneur, with aspirations of starting his own business."

“Jayland was the son that every mother dreams of, and I am proud to have been his mother,” Pamela Walker said in a statement. “But he was brutally taken from us way too soon, leaving my family and me devastated and heartbroken. We are here at the U.S. Capitol demanding accountability and change among U.S. law enforcement so that my son, and others affected by the injustices that Black Americans continue to face nationwide at the hands of U.S. law enforcement, will not have died in vain.”

It could be early April before state prosecutors present the case of the eight Akron officers who killed Jayland Walker to a grand jury in Summit County, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, told the Beacon Journal last month.

Emilia Sykes on improving community-police relations

Sykes is an Akron native who represented the city in the Ohio House of Representatives, including three years as the minority leader, before being elected to the U.S. House last November.

According to Sykes' office, Congress in December passed bipartisan legislation that creates $70 million in annual grant funding for law enforcement de-escalation training involving people with mental health issues. Last year, Biden also issued an executive order establishing a National Law Enforcement Accountability database, improving the investigation and prosecution of civil rights violations and ordering federal law enforcement to adopt body-worn camera policies, Sykes' office said.

As Ohio House Minority Leader, Sykes helped secure funding for the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in the 2022-2023 state budget, with local police departments receiving funding including Akron, Twinsburg, Bath Township, Reminderville, Springfield Township, Canton and Massillon, according to Sykes' office.

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Emilia Sykes on death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis

Sykes referenced Walker in a statement offering her condolences and prayer for justice on the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was beaten to death by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, last month.

“It is utterly unacceptable for a traffic stop to turn into a deadly interaction. Every public servant should treat everyone they serve with decency and respect," she said. “Whether it’s George Floyd, Jayland Walker or Tyre Nichols, I share in the collective outrage, pain, and resolve to ensure there are better outcomes, protections and accountability when encountering public employees, including, and especially, law enforcement.”

Sykes last week referenced Nichols' death and the overall state of policing in America during an Akron Roundtable session marking her first month in office. She said the first step is to acknowledge the systemic inequities and failures that allow for such acts of police violence, especially toward the Black community.

Rep. Emilia Sykes at Akron Roundtable:First month in Congress sets U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes up for challenges ahead

"Our interactions with law enforcement should be just like any other government official; it should be viewed as a public service, with law enforcement being there to protect and serve," Sykes stated. "We need to create a level of trust where our law enforcement feel like they are part of the community and the community feels that law enforcement is a joint venture where we are all working together.

"When you look at certain communities that don't tend to have as many issues with police and community not trusting one other, those communities tend to have a lot of resources. And when you go back to the root cause of the inequities, you don't see these types of experiences (with police violence) in neighborhoods that have after-school programs...and other basic needs being met, with people having enough food to eat or a roof over their head," Sykes said.

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rep. Emilia Sykes invites Jayland Walker's mom to State of the Union