AKRON, Ohio — A policing expert and former police officer is raising questions about officer training and whether lethal force was necessary in the shooting of Jayland Walker.
Dr. Kalfani Ture is an Assistant Professor at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland.
Ture says he became a police officer to understand policing from the inside for his academic work.
The professor reviewed the body camera videos released by Akron police last Sunday. He calls what he saw problematic and extremely disturbing.
The gunfire by Akron police on June 27 lasts seven seconds with shots heard after Jayland Walker’s body falls to the pavement.
“This was overkill, and in fact, this shooting may have been in fact criminal,” Ture said.
Ture was a police officer for five years at different agencies in Georgia.
“We’re trained to neutralize a threat, but we’re also trained to reassess whether or not the threat continues,” said Ture.
He says the body camera footage demonstrated bad tactics by the Akron Police Department.
“I saw the possibility of police officers being slain by what we call 'friendly fire,'” said Ture.
In body camera 5, a split second after the first shot, an officer appears to get ready to fire before another officer crosses their line of sight.
“There is seriously a training concern here,” said Ture.
Ture also questions whether lethal force was necessary.
He points to when Walker jumps out of the passenger seat, appearing empty-handed.
Police have said Walker was unarmed.
“The initial officer pulls out their tasers, which would lead me to believe that he wasn’t immediately perceived as a threat,” said Ture.
In the narrated police video, a still image is shown of Walker facing police the moment the first shots are fired.
In a frame-by-frame look from a different clip, Walker turns toward officers with hands near his waist less than ten seconds earlier.
Police Chief Stephen Mylett said last Sunday that each officer independently related that Walker turned and moved into a firing position.
“They are authorized to use their firearm to stop the threat,” Chief Mylett said.
Chief Mylett said this went from a routine traffic stop to a public safety issue when officers heard a gunshot 40 seconds into the chase.
Ture is the second expert to tell News 5 Investigators this could be a criminal case.
Bowling Green State Criminologist Phil Stinson says he was surprised at how many officers were there.
“The reason that’s a problem is because there’s no control, there’s no situational control,” said Stinson.
Ture wants to see the training records for the officers involved.
“There has to be more discipline than what manifested in those body camera footage,” Ture said.
Again, the police chief told News 5 the officers involved have not given formal statements and don’t have to.
The preliminary autopsy report is expected in the next few days.
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