AKRON, Ohio — One day after an Akron grand jury chose not to indict the eight officers involved in the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker, Police Chief Steve Mylett sat down with News 5’s Bob Jones to discuss the findings.
Walker was shot 46 times after a car and foot chase. Investigators said he was unarmed during the shooting, but that he fired a shot from a car less than a minutes into chase.
According to the attorney general's investigative report, Walker, who was wearing a ski mask, turned as he was running and raised an arm towards the officers before they fired more than 90 shots in less than seven seconds.
Internal Investigation
Now that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations report is complete, the Akron Police Department’s internal investigation is underway. According to Mylett, he plans on reviewing the state's investigative documents to determine if any policies have been violated. He said the process could take at least 60 days.
“When you look at every piece of evidence that’s on the attorney general’s website, it is going to take a long time to go through the entire case,” Mylett said.
When asked if it appears the officers violated any policies based on what was revealed in the attorney general's lengthy investigative report, the chief said, "I just downloaded this today — started going through it. Nothing is jumping out at me right now, but there could be."
Was justice served?
Mylett said that in terms of the process, the community has been asking for the police department to have independent investigations for decades when an officer is involved in a shooting.
“We went to the attorney general's office, the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and asked them to take this case. We walled ourselves off. We had nothing to do with this investigation. I have read the executive summary. They have been exceptionally thorough in gathering facts and evidence. They went with a special prosecutor. They convened a special grand jury to only hear this one case. And the grand jury made decisions— a cross-section of Summit County. So from that aspect, too, I think justice was served in the process,” Mylett said.
He said he understands that justice means different things to different people and can’t comment on how other individuals feel.
Why the officers won’t be named
Since the shooting happened last June, the Akron Police Department made the decision not to name the officers who were involved unless criminal charges were filed. The department’s unusual and secretive policies have been criticized by the Akron Beacon Journal, among others. Mylett said that officers have been getting threats and that he wants to keep them safe.
“I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of my employees,” Mylett said. "I'm not going to release their names and I'm not trying to be obstinate or anything else. The reason is for their safety. They have a right to be safe."
Officers returning to duty
The officers, who have been on desk duty since October, were placed on paid administrative leave while the grand jury met. Now that the jury has decided not to indict them, they will be returning to desk duty, but the timing hasn't been determined yet.
“They are not under criminal investigation any no longer. There is no specific evidence that’s indicating that they violated our department policy, so there is no reason to keep them on paid administrative leave,” Mylett said.
If they are cleared in the department's internal investigation, they will return to full duty, which could happen as soon as this summer, the chief said.
Handcuff policy
After the Walker shooting, the police department announced it will make some policy changes. One of the questions members in the community had after the shooting was why Walker remained handcuffed. Mylett said after speaking with departments across the country, he was going to change the handcuff policy.
"I made a decision. If there's no threat present to the officer, take the handcuffs off," he said.
Mylett said if he would meet with the Walker family if that was something they wanted to do. He offered his condolences to the family again and said he understands they're grieving.
"I can't imagine. It's a nightmare, the idea of losing one of my children. I can't get my arms around it and she's (Walker's mother) having to live this nightmare for the rest of her life."
Watch Akron city and police officials speak to reporters following the grand jury decision:
RELATED: Follow continuing coverage of the grand jury decision and its aftermath
