{"id":8172,"date":"2023-05-04T14:27:32","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T14:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=8172"},"modified":"2023-05-04T14:27:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T14:27:32","slug":"next-steps-walker-protestors-ready-for-police-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/04\/next-steps-walker-protestors-ready-for-police-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Next Steps: Walker Protestors Ready For Police Reforms*"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Jayland Walker family, along with family attroner and Judi Hill, Akron NAACP president<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Lynn Lee<\/strong><\/em>
\nReporter News Team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Akron, OH) — The aftermath of a grand jury decision not to file criminal
\ncharges against eight police officers involved in the deadly shooting of
\nJayland Walker, let the air out of a balloon. So many are feeling
\nemotionally deflated. Protestors are not without options: politics and civil
\nrights education.<\/p>\n

“The law allows officers to use deadly force to defend themselves or others
\nagainst a deadly threat,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in
\nannouncing the decision. ”<\/p>\n

The decision has left so many emotions running high, and the willingness to
\naccept the outcome is just incompatible, they just won\u2019t mix. Those in the
\nBlack Community are hurt and angry about a decision that is viewed unjust.<\/p>\n

The citizens of Akron have felt uneasy about the treatment from law
\nenforcement, which seems to have the two sides clashing much too often.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Protesters march down Copley Road after grand jury decision not to charge the eight police officers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not too long ago, citizens took their voices to the ballot box voting to
\ncreate a Citizen\u2019s Police Oversight Board to review local policing policies
\nand procedures of the City of Akron Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n

Now with the \u201cNo Bill\u201d decision from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation,
\nthere are those who beg to question where do we go from here?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis question seems to come up after so many tragedies across the country
\nand we haven\u2019t been able to answer it yet,\u201d said concerned citizen Renee
\nGreen.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think we should go anywhere from here \u2013 I don\u2019t think
\nwe should move from this spot until the issue is resolved that is amenable
\nto the public or citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Akron City Ward 4 Councilwoman said, \u201cIf people want to continue
\nto march to keep the attention in the public’s eye, that\u2019s fine, but the
\nlegalese need to resolve this with the public behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201d We\u2019ve gotten the attention from a Cleveland attorney because of a water
\nbottle thrown at a peace rally (last Wednesday night) and the police are so
\nantagonized and ready to strike (spraying tear gas and throwing smoke bombs
\nat non-violent young and old protestors) \u00a0tells me that a lesson for them
\nhas not been learned because officers got away again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mistrust and alienation between Black men and the police have become so<\/p>\n

entrenched. When it comes to the relationship between police and citizens,
\nparticularly young Black men, the collective experience of Black men is
\nsobering.<\/p>\n

Numerous studies have shown that Black men are disproportionately targeted,
\nstopped, frisked, and searched through the practice of racial profiling.<\/p>\n

Black men end up in prison more often, receive longer sentences than white
\nmen, and are more likely to be killed during police encounters than white
\nmen \u2013 21 times more likely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our job to prepare them for what may lay ahead, and we work hard with
\nyoung Black men to basically show them that their actions when encountered
\nby police may very well play a role in the outcome of their encounter,\u201d
\nsaid Michael Irby- President of 100 Black Men of Greater Akron.<\/p>\n

His answer, to where we go from here, \u00a0is to be vocal \u2013 \u201cspeak up and speak
\nout. \u201cWe show them that it\u2019s OK to protest and be vocal \u00a0but do it in a way
\nthat is respectful and peaceful. We also make sure they know what they are
\nprotesting about, that you are not out there just to be vocal. \u00a0Have in
\nmind what changes you seek and why you are seeking them.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Irby, violence is unnecessary. \u201cYou can get your word across
\nwithout destroying or being violent.\u201d<\/p>\n

On behalf of the Black Elected Officials of Summit County (BEOSC), member
\nVeronica Sims recognizes the hurt of the Walker family at the decision of
\nthe grand jury not to charge the eight officers- \u00a0that they feel killed
\ntheir son.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this is another incomparable, agonizing painful moment that you
\nmust endure, and we request that the city and police department recognize
\nthe hurt of the Walker family and community by not standing in the way of
\nnonviolent protests which is an afforded right guaranteed by the First
\nAmendment.<\/p>\n

We ask the community to continue in nonviolent protests and we urge outside
\ngroups and those with malicious intentions to steer clear of our city, we
\ndon\u2019t need any more hurt or pain in our city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BEOSC stands ready and willing to collaborate with the city, Police
\ndepartment and any other organization to bring resolve and forward progress
\nto Akron in the days, weeks, and months ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Reprinted from The Reporter – April 29, 2023 edition.*<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lynn Lee Reporter News Team (Akron, OH) — The aftermath of a grand jury decision not to file criminal charges against eight police officers involved in the deadly shooting of Jayland Walker, let the air out of a balloon. So many are feeling emotionally deflated. Protestors are not without options: politics and civil rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[173],"class_list":["post-8172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8175,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8172\/revisions\/8175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8172"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=8172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}