CHICAGO (NewsNation) — After declaring a state of emergency and curfew Monday following protests over the police killing of an unarmed Black man, Jayland Walker, Akron, Ohio Mayor Dan Horrigan announced Tuesday afternoon that he intends to lift the curfew in place for the downtown area.
“I want to again thank all those who have protested peacefully in our community over the last several days. Citizens have a right to make their voices heard, and I fully support that. The community respected the curfew which we put in place last night and did not further damage our downtown corridor. I expect tonight to be the same. In an effort to support all those who are peacefully protesting, I plan to lift the curfew in our downtown footprint starting tomorrow. As always, public safety remains our top priority and I urge our community to report any instances or threats of violence or destruction so that a small group of agitators does not cause further damage to our city and small businesses.”
Akron Mayor, Dan Horrigan
Protest turned unruly Sunday night, after video released Sunday showed eight police officers in Akron were involved in a shooting that killed an unarmed Black man whose body was found with some 60 gunshot wounds after he fled a traffic stop last week.
Police played multiple videos at a news conference, one of which they said shows a gunshot being fired from the car driven by Jayland Walker, 25, who was being pursued by officers.
The curfew remains in effect as of 9 p.m. Tuesday. If there are no public safety concerns throughout the night, the order will be rescinded at 6 a.m. Wednesday.