AKRON, Ohio — Representatives for Jayland Walker's family announced a community gathering Tuesday and funeral services Wednesday for the 25-year-old man shot and killed by Akron Police, and they also condemned violence against protesters by police.
You can watch the briefing in the player below:
Unity gathering and funeral service for Walker
Ken Abbarno, a Walker family attorney and representative, announced two upcoming events honoring Walker.
There will be a unity gathering Tuesday at the Remedy Church, located at 1700 Britton Rd. in Akron, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Funeral services will be held for Walker on Wednesday at the Akron Civic Theater, located at 182 S. Main St. in Akron. There will be a viewing from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. followed by a service at 1 p.m. The service is open to the public.
Continued calls for nonviolent protest
DiCello, on behalf of family, again called for nonviolent protest in support of Walker and the family.
"We stand for nonviolence, but we encourage protest," DiCello said. "We encourage the First Amendment exercise of the pain and suffering that's been visited upon this family and this community. And today we want the entire world to know that expressing your pain and your anger about what happened can be nonviolent and can support justice for Jayland."
Robert DeJournett, pastor at St. Ashworth Temple in Akron, echoed calls for nonviolent protest.
"We are angry, we're hurting, and people should be able to demonstrate in a nonviolent way," DeJournett said. "And that goes for our police department, too, because they should not — they should be acting in a nonviolent way as well. So with it being a two-way street, we want to do this and do it right, because we're not going away until justice is served. But we want to do it with dignity. We want to do it with respect. We are overwhelmed by the support that we are getting. And what we really want is to lay our loved ones to rest."
'Stop the blame game'
Walker family attorney Bobby DiCello called out the City of Akron for what he called an attempt to vilify Walker.
"On behalf of the Walker family, we are gathered today to denounce violence against the protesters who have gathered to support this family," said DiCello at a news conference Monday. "We've also calling upon the city to stop the blame game."
DiCello said an Akron Police news conference Sunday, in which they showed images of Walker wearing a mask, "was an attempt to frame Jayland as someone he was not, and the ongoing rhetoric about this must stop."
DiCello said the city "misses the point" in its focus on threats against city officials and law enforcement.
During a news conference Monday morning, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett spoke about threats that the mayor and law enforcement members have received in the wake of the shooting.
"I, too, have received threats," DiCello said. "I, too, have been the target of hateful communications. And I didn't make a press conference about that, because this is not about me."
DiCello said that those who get involved in law enforcement or his line of work need to "understand what that means."
"We do not take lightly these threats and we do not encourage them in any way. But they are not and ought not to be the focus," he said.
Calls for immediate change
DiCello also called on the city to allow the Department of Justice to get involved in the investigation into the shooting immediately, and to have federal DOJ officials work alongside Ohio BCI.
He also called on the city to take immediate action to address some of the policy issues that have come out since the shooting.
"There is no reason, not any reason, to take a slow approach to changing policies," DiCello said. "That can happen this week, today, it could have happened yesterday. They could have gone to the office on Friday. So we encourage the city to immediately — and we are calling upon them to immediately begin — new policies with dash cams. That is not and should not be in debate right now. The need for dash cams in the city should not even be a discussion."
What's next?
Walker family representatives said they are not aware of any grand jury proceedings at this time, and they have not been told of any prosecution efforts.
"We will, at a later date, express our need for an independent prosecution here," DiCello said.
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