Trigger Warning: Racism, Police Brutality.
On June 27, 2022 a 25 year old black man, Jayland Walker, was gunned down by the Akron Police Department. His offense? A broken taillight. Police fired over 90 rounds at Jayland Walker, striking him with over 60 bullets.
It's one thing to read stories about George Floyd being killed in Minneapolis, or Eric Garner in New York, but this was in OUR city, it happened to a member of OUR community. Though this isn't the first story of Akron cops overstepping their bounds, it was one of the most grotesque. It did not take long for our city to organize and rise up to once again demand change, but something was different this time. Unlike in 2020 the Mayor was not out marching with us, he didn't force the cops in riot gear to take a knee in unity, the exact opposite happen.
A few days after the murder of Jayland Walker the Mayor of Akron, Dan Horrigan, decided to cancel the annual 4th of July festival held downtown. He had seen the video and knew that nothing good could come from it. Protest begin on July 1st at the Justice Center in Akron, for the first two days the police stayed hidden inside and things went smoothly. Sunday, July 3rd that all changed. We seen the video, the world seen the video. We watched as Jayland Walker was gunned down by the very people who were suppose to protect him. We watched at the APD attempted to make their own narrative overtop of the actual footage.
It's hard to tell if the police response post press conference was predetermined, or if watching their own gun down Jayland Walker made them feel invincible. On July 3rd Akron Police Department declared war on a grieving community.
TO BE CONTINUED