Preliminary autopsy report results were shared on Friday in the police killing of 25-year-old Jayland Walker.
Per the Associated Press, Dr. Lisa Kohler—who serves as the medical examiner for Summit County in Ohio—said it was not presently possible to determine the total number of shots that officers fired at Walker. The preliminary report, however, is reported to show he was “shot or grazed” 46 times, including multiple gunshot wounds in his back.
“The autopsy determined that Jayland had 46 gunshot wound entrances or graze injuries,” Dr. Kohler told reporters Friday morning, as seen in the WKYC Channel 3 footage above. “A graze injury results when the bullet runs along the surface of the skin but does not enter a specific area of the body. An entrance wound indicates that the bullet struck the skin and entered a part of the body and either exited or became lodged within tissues of the body.”
Dr. Kohler broke down the determined wounds to include 15 gunshot wounds that entered the torso and caused internal injuries to the heart and other organs, 17 gunshot wounds that entered the pelvis and upper legs, one bullet that struck the face, eight that entered the arms and right hand, and five that entered the knees and right lower leg and foot.
Also addressed during the presser was the toxicology screen, which showed no signs of drugs or alcohol, as well as the manner of death due to blood loss from internal injuries. Dr. Kohler said the manner was ruled to be homicide, though she added this was a “medical ruling” and “not a legal conclusion.”
Jayland Walker’s recent funeral in Akron was followed by a press conference from Bobby DiCello, an attorney representing his family.
“We need a public apology,” DiCello said this week, per the Akron Beacon Journal. “We are going to ask to say that they do as they say with their kind words privately. With their gestures here today, we need more from city leadership. And we need that dialogue to start immediately.”
DiCello also announced that a recently formed United Nations group will dig into the fatal June 2022 shooting following an investigation from the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Jayland Walker was killed by Akron police officers on June 27. Involved officers have since been placed on paid leave.
