As Akron, Ohio,\u00a0police released body camera footage Sunday of the fatal shooting of Black motorist Jayland Walker showing multiple police officers discharging a hail of bullets<\/a>, policing experts say the video\u00a0produces more questions than answers early on.<\/p>\n Officers shot and killed Walker, 25, on Monday<\/a> as he fled police who were pursuing him for a traffic violation and an equipment violation, according to authorities. Video showed officers unsuccessfully attempting to stop Walker using tasers as he fled his car, before discharging a flurry of rounds, killing\u00a0him. The footage released by police Sunday includes a narrated video of the events leading up to the shooting, as well as body camera footage of police pursuit of Walker and the fatal gunfire.\u00a0Walker’s body was blurred in the video at the request of his family, according to police.\u00a0 At a news conference Sunday,\u00a0Police Chief Stephen Mylett\u00a0said the medical examiner determined about 60 wounds on Walker’s body.\u00a0It was not yet clear how many shots were fired by the eight officers who were involved in the shooting.\u00a0 Walker was pronounced dead at the scene and his death from multiple gunshot wounds\u00a0was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner.<\/p>\n USA TODAY spoke to two criminal justice and policing experts\u00a0who say the videos on their own\u00a0ultimately do not provide full clarity on\u00a0key moments in the shooting, including what led police to switch from taser use to deadly force\u00a0and what led to the volume of gunfire by police at Walker, who was unarmed when he was shot, according to Mylett.\u00a0 Released body cam footage showed officers in pursuit of a silver Buick at 12:30 am\u00a0Monday\u00a0for a\u00a0traffic and equipment violation. While pursuing Walker\u00a0in their cruiser, officers reported a gunshot coming from the door of Walker’s car.<\/p>\n The officers pursued Walker\u00a0as he refused to stop before he finally fled\u00a0from the passenger side door of the moving vehicle wearing a ski mask, the video shows. Multiple officers can be heard yelling at Walker before attempting to tase him, then firing a rapid series of rounds.<\/p>\n\n The videos released helped to provide context to the shooting,\u00a0including the high volume of shots fired, how the pursuit unfolded\u00a0and the attempted use of tasers by police before deadly force, according to\u00a0Keith Taylor,\u00a0adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice\u00a0at John Jay College.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘DIFFICULT TO WATCH, AND SHOCKING’:<\/strong>Akron police release ‘heartbreaking’ footage of Jayland Walker being shot up to 60 times<\/a><\/p>\n\n DEPUTING GONE WILD?:<\/strong>Federal task forces give state and local cops ridiculously broad immunity, Nick Sibilla<\/a>\u00a0writes for USA TODAY Opinion<\/p>\n But the footage doesn’t directly show what caused officers to begin firing their weapons, Taylor said.<\/p>\n “My understanding is that he took a pose which appeared to show him getting ready to shoot at police officers and that was the cause\u00a0of their use of lethal force,” he told USA TODAY. “I didn’t see that. And I’m sure that’s going to be critical in this investigation.”<\/p>\n Photos from the scene showed a\u00a0gun on the front seat of Walker’s car, and Mylett said video and audio appeared\u00a0to show the flash of a gun and a gunshot from Walker’s car during the vehicle chase.\u00a0Walker was unarmed as he fled his car and ran from police, according to Mylett.<\/p>\n An Ohio bill signed by Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this year<\/a> allows Ohio residents over the age of 21 to conceal firearms\u00a0they are legally allowed to own without\u00a0training or permits. The bill also removes\u00a0the legal requirement for gun owners to tell police they are armed when stopped. “Ohio allows anybody to carry guns around, no questions asked,” Lawlor said. “That’s a recent policy Gov. DeWine just signed, no permit necessary. And when that happens, it’s more likely stuff like this will happen.”<\/p>\n The video may not be clear enough to determine\u00a0whether Walker\u00a0posed a risk to others, including police, during the pursuit, according to\u00a0Mike Lawlor, associate criminal justice professor\u00a0at the University of New Haven.<\/p>\n\n “The\u00a0question\u00a0about\u00a0whether\u00a0anyone\u00a0gets\u00a0charged\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0crime\u00a0is:\u00a0did\u00a0they\u00a0reasonably believe\u00a0someone’s\u00a0life\u00a0is\u00a0in\u00a0danger\u00a0at\u00a0that\u00a0point?” Lawlor told USA TODAY.\u00a0 Police departments have various procedures around what constitutes an authorization for a high-speed chase, and the speed at which Walker was driving from police could’ve posed a risk to others,\u00a0according to Taylor.<\/p>\n “The driver\u00a0actually driving away at a high speed created a public safety condition, because that driver could possibly run through a red light and kill somebody who’s walking across the street or driving through an intersection,” Taylor said.\u00a0 Lawlor said most police departments have strict policies related to the initiation of high-speed chases, which often require\u00a0<\/strong>the\u00a0potential risk to others to be weighed alongside the nature of the crime for which the person is being pursued.<\/p>\n “So if this started out as pure equipment violation, which usually means like a defective tail light or there’s not a light on the license plate, that would never justify a pursuit in almost any part of the country,” he said.\u00a0 The video also raises questions about the reason behind the volume of shots fired at Walker by Akron police.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eight officers were directly involved in the shooting, and all have been placed on paid administrative leave, according to Mylett, in line with\u00a0Akron Police’s policy following involvement in the use of deadly force. Five more officers were on the scene but not involved in the shooting.<\/p>\n\n USA TODAY OPINION:<\/strong>Jayland Walker left his gun in the car. Then Akron police shot him 60 times.<\/a><\/p>\n ‘HE WAS OUTGUNNED, OUTMANNED’:<\/strong>Akron leaders condemn shooting of Jayland Walker<\/a><\/p>\n Multiple officers simultaneously perceiving Walker as a deadly threat could’ve led to the high number of shots fired, according to Taylor.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I’m not certain that they had enough time to plan any kind of tactical approach to the situation,” Taylor said.\u00a0“And I think all of them must have felt that there was an immediate threat to their lives.” The volume of shots fired may also be more closely tied to the number of officers involved than to their shooting response, Lawlor said.<\/p>\n “The training is if you believe that the force is justified, then you continue to shoot at center mass until the threat is gone,” he said. “They’re basically going to empty out their weapons.”\u00a0 Both Lawlor and Taylor recognized the important role the transparency of the Akron police department in determining\u00a0the full sequence of events. An\u00a0Akron city ordinance\u00a0passed last year\u00a0requires\u00a0police videos in cases involving the use of deadly force<\/a> be posted online within seven days for the public to view.\u00a0<\/p>\n Akron police released body camera footage from the scene of Walker’s killing on Sunday, six days after the shooting.<\/p>\n![\"Javon](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/07\/03\/USAT\/269986fc-3658-41f6-b054-72fef8ac8616-AP_Fatal_Police_Shooting.JPG?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
Video doesn’t show what caused officers to fire weapons, expert says<\/h2>\n
‘Started out as pure equipment violation’<\/h2>\n
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