Akron mayor to lift downtown curfew ordered amid protests over Jayland Walker killing

Mayor Dan Horrigan of Akron, Ohio, will lift the downtown curfew Sunday that he ordered during protests over the police killing of Jayland Walker, some of which became violent.

“The curfew will remain in place tonight and absent additional public safety concerns, the curfew will terminate tomorrow morning,” Akron’s Chief Communications Officer Stephanie Marsh wrote in a press release Saturday.

The curfew currently lasts from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., to avoid any protests that could become “no longer peaceful” after nightfall.

“Early yesterday, we had several peaceful protests in the downtown footprint related to the officer-involved shooting of Jayland Walker. These protests did not escalate to violence and destruction,” said Horrigan when he instituted the curfew on July 4.

“However, as night fell and others began to join, the protests became no longer peaceful. There was significant property damage done to downtown Akron. Small businesses up and down Main St. have had their windows broken. We cannot and will not tolerate the destruction of property or violence,” he said at the time.

Members of the Akron community were protesting in response to police shooting Walker approximately 60 times while he ran away from a traffic stop.

Akron Police Department officers followed Walker near midnight and attempted to halt him for a traffic violation, chasing after him when he refused to stop his car.

Walker left his car while in motion to run away from the officers, police claimed, saying that “actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them.”

Officers shot Walker dozens of times before calling for medical services, who pronounced the man dead at the scene.