Protesters hold a “Justice for Jayland” sign as they gather outside Akron City Hall to protest the killing of Jayland Walker, who was shot by police on July 3, 2022, in Akron, Ohio.
Matthew Hatcher | AFP | Getty Images
officials on Monday 9 pm curfew The city of Akron, Ohio, and the police canceled the fireworks show in the wake of protests over the killing of black motorist Jayland Walker.
Mayor Dan Horrigan said the action was necessary because of the threat of violence and property damage in the downtown district of Northeast Ohio City.
police on officers released on sunday‘ Body camera footage of the June 27 shooting and Horrigan praised protesters for their initial “peaceful” display that “did not increase the violence and destruction.”
“However, as the night wore on and others started joining in, the protest was no longer peaceful,” he said. said in a statement, “There was significant property damage in the city of Akron.”
The mayor said small businesses up and down Main Street were damaged and the city “cannot and will not tolerate the destruction of property or violence.”
“For the damage that has been done and to keep the peace in our community, I have declared a state of emergency, imposed a curfew and canceled the fireworks scheduled for tonight,” Horrigan said.
Downtown Akron is now under curfew from Monday 9 PM to Tuesday 6 AM, According to the executive order of the mayor,
The curfew area is bordered by State Route 59 (also known as Perkins Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) to the north, Interstates 76 and 77 to the south, State Route 8 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the east. west.
Fourth of July fireworks that had been scheduled for the city of Akron, at the Patterson Park Sports Complex, and at Akron Fulton Airport, were cancelled.
eight police officers, now on administrative leaveOfficials said Walker was shot after jumping from a moving car.
Officer allegedly fired dozens of shots And Walker’s loved ones have questioned why so much deadly force was used. A gun was found in Walker’s car but not on his body That’s when officers fired a barrage of deadly shots, police said.