AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old black man who died last month at the hands of police in Akron, Ohio, was shot dozens of times, with 26 bullets removed from his body, according to a preliminary autopsy report , published on Friday.
Dr. Lisa Kohler, the Summit County medical examiner, said it was impossible for her office to say which bullet killed Walker or the number of shots fired.
Walker “had several very devastating injuries that would have caused death,” including injuries to the heart, lungs and arteries, Kohler said. She counted 41 entry wounds and five bullet wounds that grazed Walker.
Preliminary findings, previously released, indicated that Walker’s body had more than 60 wounds. Greta Johnson, Summit County’s communications director, said Friday that it is “very possible” that one bullet could have caused several different entry wounds.
Walker had five wounds to his back, but it’s not possible to tell if they came as he ran or turned around while he was shot, Kohler said.
The medical examiner released a summary of Walker’s death report at a news conference. The report was finalized on Thursday.
The June 27 chase began when officers tried to pull him over for equipment violations. Authorities say Walker fired from his car 40 seconds into the chase.
Kohler said no illegal drugs or alcohol were found on Walker.
The medical examiner’s findings confirm that Walker, unarmed and without drugs or alcohol in his system, “came to a brutal, senseless death,” said Ken Abarno, an attorney representing Walker’s family.
Walker was remembered at his funeral Wednesday as a shy, kind, thoughtful man with a quiet sense of humor. Another attorney for his family previously said Walker was grieving the recent death of his fiancee, but his family had no indication of concern beyond that.
A message seeking comment on the autopsy results was sent Friday to a police department spokesman.
The update comes a day after the NAACP made a direct request to Attorney General Merrick Garland to the Department of Justice to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.
Police said Walker fled an attempted traffic stop for minor equipment violations and fired shots from his car during the vehicle pursuit, but was unarmed when officers shot him.
Police dashcam footage shows Walker, wearing a ski mask, jump out the front passenger door of the still-moving car and then run into a parking lot, where police open fire. This blurry footage does not clearly show what authorities say is a threatening gesture Walker made before he was shot.
An unloaded handgun, an ammunition magazine and what appeared to be a wedding ring were found in the front driver’s seat of Walker’s car, authorities said.
The officers involved are on paid leave while the state investigates the shooting. Seven of those officers are white and one is black. None of them have a disciplinary record, substantiated complaints or fatal shootings, the police department said.
The local police union said the officers believed there was an imminent threat of serious injury and that it believed their actions and the number of shots fired would be justified in accordance with their training and protocols.
Police in the neighboring city of New Franklin had tried to stop and then chased a car matching Walker’s for the same minor equipment violations less than 24 hours before the pursuit in Akron. A warden there called off the pursuit when the car crossed the village line into Akron.
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Associated Press writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.
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