Medical examiner: Jayland Walker shot, grazed 46 times
(NewsNation) — Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man whom Akron, Ohio, police killed late last month, had 46 gunshot and graze wounds on his body when he arrived at the medical examiner’s office, officials said Friday.
The autopsy determined that Walker suffered 41 bullet entrance wounds, five graze injuries and 15 exit wounds, Summit County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler said at a news conference.
A graze injury happens when the bullet runs along the surface of the skin but doesn’t enter the body, Kohler said.
It’s unclear how many shots police fired in total. Twenty-six bullets were recovered from Walker’s body.
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Officials’ release of Walker’s preliminary autopsy report comes one day after the NAACP made a direct plea to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.
The June 27 pursuit that ended in Walker’s death began when officers tried to pull him over, citing alleged equipment violations. Authorities have said that Walker fired a gunshot from his car 40 seconds into the chase, but he wasn’t armed when police shot him.
Kohler did not determine whether Walker fired a shot. Gunshot residue testing is considered unreliable and the examiner therefore didn’t perform a test, Kohler said.
Police body-camera footage that was released earlier this month showed Walker jump out of a car while it was still moving slowly. He was wearing a ski mask at the time.
Walker then ran to the parking lot where police opened fire, lodging 15 gunshot wounds into his torso, 17 gunshot wounds to his pelvis and upper legs, and one shot to the face, officials said. The medical examiner noted that five of the 46 total gunshot or graze wounds were to Walker’s back.
The police body camera footage is blurry and doesn’t clearly show a threatening gesture that authorities say Walker made before police shot him.
An unloaded handgun, an ammunition clip and what appeared to be a wedding band were found on the driver’s seat of Walker’s car, authorities said.
The officers involved are on paid leave while the state investigates the shooting. Seven of those officers are white, and one is Black. None of them has a record of discipline, substantiated complaints or fatal shootings, according to the police department.
The local police union has said the officers thought there was an immediate threat of serious harm, and that it believes their actions and the number of shots will be found justified in line with their training and protocols.
Bobby DiCello, an attorney for Walker’s family, has said Walker did not deserve to die. DiCello said after Walker’s funeral service that he will hold police accountable for every round fired from their guns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.