AKRON, Ohio — Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man killed in a hail of police gunfire in the Ohio city of Akron last month, was shot more than 40 times, according to a preliminary autopsy report released Friday by the Medical Examiners Office in Summit County.
Dr. Lisa Kohler, the Summit County medical examiner, says it was impossible for her office to say which bullet killed Walker or the number of shots that were fired.
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Walker “had several very devastating injuries that would cause death,” including injuries to his heart, lungs and arteries, Kohler said. She tallied 41 entry wounds and 5 wounds from bullets that grazed Walker.
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Walker had five wounds in his back, but it’s impossible to say whether those came as he ran away or turned as he was being shot, Kohler said.
The medical examiner gave a summary of the report into Walker’s death at a news conference. The report was finalized Thursday.
Preliminary findings released earlier indicated Walker’s body had more than 60 wounds. Greta Johnson, Summit County communications director, said Friday it was “very possible” that one bullet could cause several different entrance wounds.
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The June 27 pursuit began when officers tried to pull him over for equipment violations. Authorities say Walker fired a gunshot from his car 40 seconds into the chase.
The medical examiner’s findings confirm the fact that Walker, unarmed and with no drugs or alcohol in his system, “came to a brutal, senseless death,” said Ken Abbarno, a lawyer representing Walker’s family.
Kohler had said earlier that no drugs or alcohol were detected in Walker.
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A message seeking comment on the autopsy findings was sent Friday to a spokesperson for the police department.
The update comes a day after the NAACP made a direct plea to Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death.
Police said Walker fled an attempted traffic stop for minor equipment violations and fired a shot from his car during the vehicle chase, but he wasn’t armed when officers shot him.
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Police body camera footage shows Walker wearing a ski mask, jumping out the front passenger door of his still-moving car and then running into a parking lot where police opened fire. That blurry footage does not clearly show what authorities say was a threatening gesture made by Walker before he was shot.
An unloaded handgun, an ammunition clip and what appeared to be a wedding band were found on the front 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.
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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.
Police in neighboring New Franklin Township had tried to stop and then chased a car matching Walker’s for the same minor equipment violations less than 24 hours before the Akron chase. A supervisor there called off the pursuit when the car crossed the township’s border with Akron.
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.
Associated Press writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.
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