Jayland Walker.

This is the name of yet another Black male murdered unjustly – and served no justice.

In June of 2022, Walker was murdered – and suffered a brutal overkill. Walker was initially stopped for a traffic violation; however, when he did not stop, police became extremely agitated and violent.

Eight Akron police officers fired 90 rounds of bullets at him.

Walker was unarmed.

Months later, on April 17, the Ohio Grand Jury decided the fate of the eight police officers who murdered Walker. In an astonishingly upsetting, yet not surprising verdict – all eight officers face no repercussions or criminal charges.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the grand jury determined the eight officers were “legally justified in their use of force.”

There is a lot to digest with this verdict, especially because this case is so close to home for me. Akron is only about 25 minutes away from Kent.

The never-ending “justice” system disappoints us time after time, especially for the Black community. I can’t sit here and type out how I can understand what they are going through – because I cannot. The justice system continues to serve nothing but absolute discrimination when it comes to a case of a Black person being murdered.

Now a big debate on social media is whether Walker “deserved” it. This is despicable to me. Reports say Walker did shoot at the police one time while he was still driving. However, after getting out of the car Walker left his weapon behind. He was unarmed when he was gunned down. The manner of his death was also extremely unnecessary. Akron police shot excessive amounts of gunfire, enough to kill several people, let alone one unarmed man.

Walker, who was already deceased at the scene, was then handcuffed. They handcuffed a dead person.

If you’re still unsure about the police’s intent, I raise this question:

If the police truly believed they did nothing wrong and followed all protocols, why would they turn off their body cam footage and microphones?

There is video footage of the cops discussing turning the footage off. But why?

It’s hard to read these facts and have hope for our future. We never seem to learn.

Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Ralph Yarl and Jayland Walker are just a few of the names who were murdered because of their skin color.

So, when will it end? We need to demand justice for those who no longer have voices. They were silenced by violence and hatred. Participate in protests and call your local representatives.

We are stronger in numbers. If you haven’t cared much about this in the past, now is your time to inform yourself about these constant injustices we see every day. Just because it may not affect you directly does not mean it does not matter.

Grace Clarke is an opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected].