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Jayland Walker death: Akron ERUPTS as armed cops use tear gas on enraged protesters

The police came out in full riot gear, tear-gassing protesters who raided the streets after the bodycam footage of Jayland Walker's death was released

Akron city protesters gathered outside of the city's main courthouse on Sunday, July, 3, and the police did not handle the situation peacefully. The police unleashed a wave of tear gas on the protesters who raided the streets hours after the bodycam footage of Jayland Walker's death was released. More than 100 people gathered in response to the footage and took down barriers that were set up outside the police headquarters. 

WKYC reported that in order to stop the protesters from causing any damage, the authorities came out in full riot gear and released tear gas on the upset civilians. After this, the protesters began to raid the sidewalk to walk around snowplows that were parked in the street to block the high street. WKYC's Neil Fischer reported that a large number of protesters left the crowded area after the police used tear gas. WKYC reporter Emma Henderson tweeted, "Tear gas is flowing. We were well over a block away from where it was fired and it's in our noses, eyes and throats. Protesters are finding each other water and moving away."

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Akron Beacon Journal reported that some protesters launched smoke bombs in the streets as retaliation. While there was no major damage to the property of the city, one protester broke the windows of several snowplows and the news captured several dumpsters on fire. One Twitter user captured the scene and posted, "Currently happening A Large protest underway for For Jayland Walker as multiple Dumpsters fires being lit on fire with reports of people Smashing Buildings windows as unlawful assembly was just declared."

Warning: Graphic content ahead

Protests for Jayland Walker turn violent

Cleveland.com reports that the protest which took place in front of the courthouse and the police headquarters, which became a mini-riot, was not a part of the NAACP march. They also report that many people from the NAACP march did end up joining the protest outside the police station. The website quotes one woman yelling through the megaphone, "I didn't know him, but I feel y'all pain. I want y'all to know, this thing is trending everywhere, Nigeria, Germany. We can't let this keep happening to us. My heart goes out to all of [those] getting killed in these streets. It ain't right, we need to stand together." The footage was shared online as one user tweeted, "Body cam footage involving the shooting involving the Akron police and Jayland walker. Cops shot over 90 shots at jayland , 60 shots his jayland #wtf #Sunday #Akron"

The footage released on Sunday, July 3 shows many officers approaching Walker's vehicle after a pursuit. As he fled on foot, they opened fire. The officials, however, claimed that Walker had fired at one of the cops during the foot pursuit. On the other hand, the autopsy reports claim that Walker was handcuffed after the shooting. The 25-year-old victim was gunned down after he was stopped for a traffic violation on June 27. The bodycam footage showed the shocking incident where eight police officers, seven of whom were White cops, shot Walker.