The family of a Black man who was fatally shot by eight police officers after an attempted traffic stop in Ohio in 2022 settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with the city of Akron for $4.8 million, the mayor’s office announced on Monday.
The family of the man, Jayland Walker, 25, filed a federal lawsuit seeking at least $45 million in damages against the city of Akron and its police department, including the eight officers, in June 2023. The lawsuit claimed that the officers used excessive force when they fatally shot Mr. Walker.
The statement from the office of Mayor Shammas Malik said the city’s vehicle pursuit policy has been updated after a review, and that talks continue with the Walker family and the community on more changes.
Mr. Walker was fatally shot by eight Akron Police Department officers after an attempted traffic stop on June 27, 2022, that led to a chase when Mr. Walker did not pull over. Officials from the attorney general’s office later said that the officers shot at Mr. Walker after he fired at least one shot at them from his vehicle.
The officers fired more than 90 shots at Mr. Walker, who sustained more than 40 gunshot wounds, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office. The shooting prompted a series of protests across Akron, a city of nearly 200,000 people that is south of Cleveland in northeastern Ohio, and drew fierce scrutiny of the Akron Police Department.
The family of Mr. Walker and the city of Akron filed a joint status report on Oct. 15, informing the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio that they had reached a settlement.
The city of Akron and a lawyer for the Walker family declined to comment about the settlement before it was finalized.
The police department said that officers had tried to stop Mr. Walker for equipment and traffic violations after midnight on June 27. Mr. Walker did not pull over, and the police followed him in their vehicles for about seven minutes, according to their account.
Video of the episode appeared to show a muzzle flash coming from the driver’s side door of Mr. Walker’s vehicle. A popping sound can be heard in the video, and an officer reports gunfire coming from Mr. Walker’s vehicle. Mr. Walker is then seen running away on foot, and officers chase after him. Officers try unsuccessfully to use stun guns on Mr. Walker before firing their guns. Mr. Walker then falls to the ground.
The Ohio attorney general’s office said that Mr. Walker had fired at least one shot at the police from his vehicle, but that he was unarmed when he was being chased on foot by the police.
The eight officers were not identified by name in the family’s lawsuit. The Police Department had previously said that it would not release their names because of threats made against them.
In April 2023, a grand jury in Ohio declined to indict the eight officers in the death of Mr. Walker, a decision that drew more protests.
Attorney General Dave Yost of Ohio said after the jury’s decision that “the question for the grand jury was not whether this was a horrible tragedy, as it clearly was.”
“The question the grand jury was charged with evaluating was whether the officers were justified in their actions,” Mr. Yost added. “The grand jury — nine citizens who live in Summit County — determined that the officers were justified.”
The grand jury, which listened to more than a week’s worth of evidence, issued a “no bill” indictment, meaning they did not find sufficient cause to charge the officers.
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