Autopsy shows black man 'shot or grazed' 46 times by U.S. police

Autopsy shows black man 'shot or grazed' 46 times by U.S. police
July 16, 2022, 10:00 am

Police in the US state of Michigan release footage of officer shooting Black man during traffic stop (File photo: Pixabay)

A 25-year-old black man killed by Ohio police last month had 46 gunshot wounds or graze injuries on his body, an autopsy report has found, the BBC reported.

According to the medical examiner, Jayland Walke sustained serious injuries to his heart, lungs and arteries in the 27 June shooting in the city of Akron.

The medical examiner said it was impossible to know which bullet killed Walker, or how many shots were fired in total.

The report comes two days after hundreds mourned his death in the city of Akron, which remains on edge.

He was killed at the end of an attempted traffic stop that began over minor equipment violations and quickly devolved into a roughly six-minute pursuit.

Authorities have said he fired a single shot 40 seconds into the chase.

A 25-year-old black man killed by Ohio police last month had 46 gunshot wounds or graze injuries on his body, an autopsy report has found - Photo. Pixabay

Police body camera footage shows Walker, in a ski mask, jumping out of the moving vehicle from its passenger side and ducking into a parking lot where police opened fire on him from multiple directions.

Walker was unarmed at the time and his family, through lawyers, have said there was no need to kill him.

Michigan police release footage of officer shooting Black man during traffic stop

Initial findings showed more than 60 wounds on Walker's body. Summit County medical examiner Dr Lisa Kohler said it was "very possible" one bullet may have caused multiple entrance wounds.

The eight officers involved in the shooting - seven of whom are white, and one of whom is black - are on paid leave as the state of Ohio investigates.

Their local police union has said it believes the officers thought they were at immediate risk of serious harm and acted in line with their training.

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On Thursday, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organisation, made a direct plea to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, the country's top prosecutor, to open a federal investigation into the incident and hold the officers accountable "to the fullest extent of the law".

Source: BBC

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