AKRON, Ohio — Akron's police chief sat down for a one-on-one interview with News 5 Investigator Tara Morgan revealing death threats against his officers and hinting at a potential change in protocol.
Chief Stephen Mylett answered tough questions about the gun, the handcuffs and whether the officers who shot and killed Walker June 27 have made any formal statements yet.
Last Sunday, Mylett said they didn’t have to.
"My understanding is that BCI has started to take statements from the officers,” Mylett said.
Eight officers are on paid administrative leave after the deadly shooting that has gained national attention.
Their names have not been released and Mylett says he doesn’t plan to release them.
“I'm not and the reason is there's been death threats made against them," he said.
"All of them?" News 5 responded.
"Yes,” Mylett said.
During our interview, Mylett read from what he said was an FBI intelligence bulletin he says in part prompted a new city curfew.
"One group of potential violent extremists was encouraged to operate covertly in the crowd during protests,” Mylett said.
Mylett re-iterated that they are playing no role in the investigation led by the BCI. However, we questioned the chief about why the chase started in the first place.
"Why not stop the pursuit after the first 40 seconds or that half mile before the shot was heard?" News 5 asked.
"So here's the challenge for us: when a person refuses to pull over, there are so many different scenarios why the person is not stopping,” Mylett said.
Mylett says the department has a history of canceling pursuits but the gunshot heard by officers is what changed this one.
"I am not vilifying Jayland Walker," he said. "I don't know why he did this, everything I hear about this young man is that he was a good young man and so that prompts a question from me. If that is true and I believe it is true, what happened in his life for him to deviate,” Mylett said.
As far as the gun in Walker’s car, Mylett says based on body camera footage, it was found with a magazine and ring in the driver’s seat.
Mylett says BCI will determine whether a shell casing found where ODOT cameras captured a muzzle shot came from the gun in Walker’s car.
"There were questions raised about Jayland Walker being put in handcuffs, is that protocol?" News 5 asked.
“It is,” he said.
Mylett says when you have an officer-involved shooting, the person is immediately handcuffed for everyone’s safety because they don’t know if they still pose a threat.
Once the person is pronounced dead at the scene, Mylett says the handcuffs stay on because it’s a preservation of the crime scene.
"If this was my brother, if this was my son, if this was my grandson, I would not like that, and I understand that, truly I do. And I am going to have a conversation with others about the need for that," said Mylett.
"Could that be a change in policy?" News 5 asked.
“I'm going to be looking at it," he said.
Mylett says the city will be releasing a website portal in the coming days which will contain news pertaining to issues related to protests, road closures and all safety updates.
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