AKRON, Ohio — On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that a grand jury has determined that the eight Akron police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Jayland Walker last June won't face criminal charges.
Shortly after making the announcement, AG Yost released the evidence that was reviewed by the grand jury that led to the decision. That evidence can be viewed on the attorney general's website here.
The evidence collected by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation includes more than 100 interviews, including with each of the eight officers who fired their weapons during the incident. It also includes evidence collected through multiple search warrants, subpoenas, body cam footage, dash-camera video, surveillance video, police reports and an autopsy of Walker's body.
“This case took more than a week because of the volume of evidence presented,” Yost said. “It's important to note that the job of my office in this case was to investigate and present evidence to the grand jury. The grand jury was instructed about the law by the judge who oversees it, not by the prosecutors, to avoid any question about the accuracy of the instruction.”
Monday's announcement comes nearly 10 months after Walker was fatally shot by eight police officers following a car chase that began when police attempted to pull him over for a broken tail light. One of the key pieces of evidence was whether or not Walker had fired a gun out his window -- something that Yost said the investigation determined he did, in fact, do.
"There is no doubt that [Walker] did, in fact, shoot at police officers," Yost declared.
After exiting his vehicle, Yost said Walker ignored "multiple commands by officers to show his hands and to stop," and that officers attempted to use a taser before Walker "reached for his waistband in what several officers described as a cross draw motion, planted his foot and turned toward the officers while raising his hand." It was only then that officers fired more than 90 rounds, with at least 45 hitting Walker.
You can watch Yost's entire press briefing in the video below.