AKRON, Ohio — The special grand jury meeting in Akron to decide whether or not charges will be filed against the eight police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker will not have a decision until next week, according to law enforcement sources.
3News learned Wednesday that the final ruling will likely come Monday or Tuesday. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office's Bureau of Criminal Investigation handled the probe of Walker's death, publicly acknowledged the jurors will be the ones who set the timeline.
"This is not the prosecutors' call," Yost said. "This is the community members call, the grand jury."
Sources also tell WKYC the eight officers will not testify before the grand jury. Instead, members have spoken with police use-of-force experts under oath and will also hear from Akron's police union attorney and other officers who were at the scene in June.
In anticipation of the grand jury's final decision, downtown businesses are increasing security.
"The planned protests [are] not what we're worried about," Chris Sedlock, owner of Twisted Tomato and Daily Pressed, explained. "It's what happens after the protests, you know, at 2 in the morning when people are still out and they decide to loot and riot."
Echoing Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett's message from earlier this week, Yost told 3News Wednesday he supports residents expressing their opinions and fighting for what they believe is right, but that violence is not the answer.
"When you pick up the rock to throw through a window, when you start a fire, when you hurt somebody else, you've crossed the line, and you've become a criminal yourself," Yost said.
Businesses like Twisted Tomato and Daily Pressed remain open, but are guarded by wooden boards. Sedlock says his stores lost $7,000 for damages alone when protesters smashed their windows in July.
"Last year, I'd say we were out like 50 grand, just in sales, because the aftermath," he added.