AKRON, Ohio — Friday, The Ohio Supreme Court released an opinion that the city of Akron doesn’t have to release the names of the eight Akron Police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker in June of 2022.
The opinion stems from the Akron Beacon Journal’s attempts to get the officer’s name through a public records request following Walker’s death.
The Akron Beacon Journal is a news partner of News 5.
Some reports were fulfilled, but the names of the eight officers were redacted.
It’s stated in the court’s document, “Akron’s primary justification for redacting officers’ names from the records it produced is that releasing the officers’ names would endanger their lives or physical safety. In support of these arguments, Akron points to specific threats made against the officers as well as more generalized threats made toward all police officers in the Akron area.”
Jayland Walker Case
Police say two officers tried to stop Walker for equipment and moving violations. He didn’t stop, so officers ended up chasing him onto Route 8.
Police say officers heard a gunshot coming from Walker's car, and an ODOT camera captured what police believe was a muzzle flash.
Minutes later, Walker jumped from the car, unarmed and wearing a ski mask and ran away.
Police opened fire for seven seconds.
An autopsy report revealed Walker had 46 bullet and graze wounds and 26 bullets recovered from his body.
RELATED: Timeline: Jayland Walker deadly shooting
A grand jury declined to indict the officers in Walker’s case.
But the court states, “However, the grand jury’s decision not to indict does not foreclose a possible federal investigation. Thus, the eight officers were criminally investigated and remain uncharged, making them “uncharged suspects” for purposes of R.C. 149.43(A)(2)(a).”
Professor Ayesha Bell Hardaway is the Director of the Social Justice Institute at Case Western Reserve University. Her research includes the fields of race and the law, policing, and police accountability.
Hardaway said, "The wording in the opinion leaves one to wonder whether that means in perpetuity. For how long do these officers… does the public not have a right to know the background and who the officers are that are patrolling their streets?”
Hardaway said there have been a number of officer-involved shootings in Akron, and communities across the nation are concerned about the use of deadly force.
“What we know in policing is that accountability requires a level of transparency,” Hardaway said. “Those benchmarks or those pillars of policing are very much what's required when we think about modern 21st Century policing and without transparency, there really can be no accountability."
She said the Ohio Supreme Court relying on the “uncharged suspects” statue shields the community from understanding who the officers are who are involved in incidents of compelling public interest.
“This lack of transparency makes it very difficult if not impossible to ensure that officers are accountable when uses of deadly force fall out of the not just the realm of the expectations from a policy standpoint, but also the expectations from a community standpoint.”
Harrdway said there’s nothing stopping the city from releasing the officer’s names, even given the Ohio Supreme Court’s opinion.
I asked her about the city of Akron’s concern that releasing the officer’s names put them at risk of serious harm or possibly death. She acknowledged those concerns but argued safety and transparency aren’t diametrically opposed.
“If there's going to be a relationship between police and the community that relationship is only going to exist where there's trust, respect, [and] transparency, and everyone's treated with dignity to the extent that you have a situation where we're thinking of things as one versus the other as opposed to understanding how they work in tandem. Our communities will be less safe. Whether it's less safe because of use of deadly force from officers. Less safe because community doesn't feel [safe or] have confidence in local law enforcement to share information related to crimes and issues in their communities.”
The city of Akron announced in October a settlement with the family of Jayland Walker for $4.85 million, which will be paid in a series of four installments over the next four years.
This decision comes just days after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by Akron police on Thanksgiving.
He was shot and killed during a confrontation with Akron police officers late Thanksgiving night, according to Akron Police Captain Michael Miller.
RELATED: Police: 15-year-old boy shot, killed by officer in Akron
Body camera footage was released Thursday showing the fatal shooting of the teen, who has been identified as Jazmir Tucker, which has sparked concern and questions in the community.
One of the questions officials were asked was the name of the officer who fired the shots that killed the teen. Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said the name wasn't being released due to concerns about the officer's safety.
RELATED: 'Deeply troubling': Body camera footage released in deadly police shooting of Akron teen
