Statement from Bobby DiCello, legal counsel to the family of Jayland Walker, on the convening of a grand jury this week in Akron, Ohio to deliberate criminal charges against the eight Akron police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last summer:
Today an Akron grand jury began its process of determining whether the officers who gunned down Jayland Walker last summer will be held criminally accountable for their actions. As part of that process, as Ohio law allows, the officers will be invited to testify before the grand jury on their behalf. Keep in mind that if any other Akron citizen was accused of a crime, they would not necessarily be afforded that same privilege. Simply put, it’s a process that favors the officers.
And against the backdrop of that process, the city is boarding up windows and bracing for violence. Why? Because the City of Akron doesn’t trust a significant portion of its citizens. It has decided that if there’s going to be violence, it will come from people who are sick and tired of a system that has ignored them and injured them for generations. City leadership doesn’t understand where that anger comes from. It doesn’t want to have that conversation because deep down, it simply doesn’t care what they are going through.
Today the family of Jayland Walker urges you to be mindful of how important it is that in America, everyone has equal access to justice and a fair process. They are not advocating for anything more than that. Unfortunately, this process is already stacked against them, but they will continue to fight for the justice that they and Jayland deserve.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bobby DiCello has also prepared a video statement on the Jayland Walker grand jury, which is available here. Media outlets may broadcast or post this video in part or in its entirety, crediting DiCello Levitt for the content.
About DiCello Levitt
DiCello Levitt is dedicated to protecting human rights and dignity through the practice of law. We seek justice for our clients through human and civil rights litigation, class action and mass tort, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, and business to business litigation. Our lawyers are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases—whether by trial, settlement, or otherwise—for people who have suffered harm, global corporations that have sustained significant economic losses, and public clients seeking to protect their citizens’ rights and interests. Every day, we put our reputations—and our capital—on the line for our clients.
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