Although 15 cases related to protests following the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker have been dismissed, they could still be refiled as the Akron City Prosecutor says he needs time to review evidence.
“It’s an ongoing investigation to make sure we are accurately depicting the conduct of each individual,” Prosecutor Craig Morgan said, citing body camera footage. “After the conclusion, we will likely re-sign the offenses and start the process all over again.”
Walker was unarmed when he was fatally shot 46 times by eight police officers in June 2022, after police claim he fired a gunshot during a car chase. Walker’s death is under investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Investigation.
In the ensuing protests, police arrested more than 75 people. In addition to the 15 dismissed cases, which may still be refiled, five cases have been settled through plea deals and more than 40 remain set for trial, the Beacon Journal Reports.
“We are the public defender — the people we represent are indigent,” said Summit County public defender Andrea Whitaker, who is responsible for representing the majority of the misdemeanor cases. “If they miss work to come to court, they lose income. It can be the difference between making their rent or their car payment,” she said of the prosecutor’s decision.
In September, the Legal Defenders of Summit County and private attorneys tried to get charges against roughly 50 of the people arrested during protests dismissed, arguing the arrests were violations of free speech and that officers failed to sufficiently document the alleged crimes and evidence.
However, Akron judges refused to dismiss the charges for the majority of cases.
“Defense motions are based on mere conclusory allegations that all the defendants were engaged in constitutionally protected acts,” Judge Annalisa Stubbs Williams wrote in a decision rejecting the dismissal of eight cases as premature.
Some protestors, like Semaj Brown, were offered the opportunity to have charges dismissed if they signed a waiver promising not to sue the City of Akron. Brown refused and charges against him were dismissed anyway, though they may be refiled.
Others arrested include Jacob Blake Sr., the father of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, who was shot and paralyzed by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Bianca Austin, the aunt of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky.
“If we have a case ripe for trial and the defendant wants a trial, we are going to have a trial,” Morgan said when asked if the remaining cases would go to trial. The charges involved have a statute of limitations of two years.
For her part, Whitaker says her office is prepared.
“We were prepared to go to trial today. We will be prepared to go to trial whenever the city is ready,” she said.
Coming soon: Cleveland Scene Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Cleveland stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing. Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
This article appears in Jan 25 – Feb 7, 2023.