>
Eight Ohio police officers involved in the June shooting of a 25-year-old black man will return to work, the Akron police chief announced Tuesday, to help the city cope with a staff shortage.
Steve Mylett, chief of police for Akron, told a news conference that he knew bringing the officers back would be controversial, but insisted it was better than letting the city go without essential services.
“I recognize that this decision will have an impact. And there may be some concern in the community, but I didn’t take this decision lightly,” Mylett said.
“And I think this decision is in the best interest of the citizens and businesses of Akron.”
He said the eight would have office duties, not in uniform.
The unnamed officers shot and killed Jayland Walker after a traffic stop for a minor violation.
Steve Mylett, chief of police at Akron, said Monday he would bring the eight officers back to address a staff shortage.
Jayland Walker, 25, was shot dead by police in Ohio, with a coroner determining he had been shot or grazed 46 times when police fired a hail of bullets at him on June 27.
Police had chased Walker (right) for material violations and said the 25-year-old black man shot at them 40 seconds after the chase. Walker, however, was unarmed and ran away when police opened fire on him
Walker ran away and, according to authorities, 40 seconds after the chase, Walker fired a shot from his car, causing the police to fly back.
As the car slowed, Walker jumped out of the passenger-side door in a ski mask and fled the police, who then unleashed a barrage of gunshots.
Walker died with 46 gunshot wounds to his body, a coroner concluded — five of them in the back, as Walker ran away.
An unloaded pistol, an ammunition clip and what appeared to be a wedding ring were found in the driver’s seat of Walker’s car, authorities said.
The officers involved were on paid leave while the state investigates the shooting. Seven of those officers are white and one is black.
None of them have a criminal record in terms of discipline, well-founded complaints or fatal shootings, police said.
Immediately after the shooting, Mylett asked Ohio Attorney General David Yost for an outside review by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The results of the state investigation, which is underway, will be turned over to local prosecutors or a grand jury to decide whether charges against the officers involved are warranted.
Mourners at Walker’s funeral on July 13 wore ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Zero Threat, Zero Violence, Justice for Jayland’ T-shirts as they protested his death at the hands of police
A member of the Fred Hampton Gun Club stands guard outside the Akron Civic Theater, where about 1,000 mourners gathered for Jayland Walker’s funeral on July 13.
Academy Award Winning Film Director Spike Lee Attended Jayland Walker’s Funeral
Mylett said he was aware the decision to get the eight back to work was controversial, but said he had consulted widely and agreed it was the best course of action.
“I need as many people as possible so I don’t have to cut down on community service,” Mylett said, adding that staffing levels were dangerously low.
“So much so that I consider it a crisis – the staffing levels in our police department – to the point where I am put in a position where I eventually have to decide to end some of the services we provide to the community because we just don’t have enough people.” .
“And that’s definitely something I don’t want to do,” Mylett said.
The chief said he had met with advisory boards on how to proceed, taking into account the needs of the department and the community at large.
“I think it will make a significant difference because every call an agent can handle over the phone is one less response from a field guard, and that keeps agents close by and free to answer other 911 calls, calls with a higher priority.
“I’ve asked my deputy chiefs to allocate the officers properly. And they do,” he said.
“I assure you this has not been a holiday for these officers. This shooting has had an impact on everyone in the city of Akron and beyond.
“And this shooting certainly hit the officers as well.
‘Bring’ [them] back and reassigning it provides a service to the community that these officials can provide.
“And that’s the decision—that decision was based on that.”