AKRON, Ohio — As the investigation into the deadly police shooting of Jayland Walker continues, the city of Akron is now looking at installing dash cameras on their fleet of police vehicles.
“The city will be looking into how to get cameras into our cars,” Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said during a press conference Monday morning. “The elected officials sent a letter to the Ohio governor asking for dollars to fund this project because it is costly.”
The conversation of dashcams in Akron recently surfaced earlier this month when Chief Mylett released body camera footage connected to Walker’s shooting death. There's no dashcam footage of the incident.
Chief Mylett's comments come after he and Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan met with the Black Elected Officials of Summit County on Sunday to discuss issues within the city -- including the need for dashcams, which both Mayor Horrigan and Chief Mylett have announced they support.
“I think it will only enhance our ability to tell the public what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, why we’re doing it and under what circumstances,” Chief Mylett said while noting they’re hoping to get some help from Gov. Mike DeWine with the funding."
Walker, who was laid to rest last Wednesday, was shot and killed three weeks ago on June 27 when eight Akron police officers opened fire amid an overnight chase. Police say Walker had fired a shot at one point during the vehicle pursuit, but was unarmed at the time officers opened fire as the chase continued on foot. A gun was later found in Walker's vehicle, according to police.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous story on July 15, 2022.