Rest in Peace, Jayland Walker

On June 27, 2022, 25-year-old delivery driver Jayland Walker was murdered by police in Akron, Ohio. They fired 90 bullets and he was shot 60 times, even after he was on the ground. A routine traffic stop ended in cold-blooded murder.

The police took upon themselves to escalate a simple traffic stop and used their position to take an innocent life. Everyday, Black people are afraid to be subject to traffic stops because it could mean that they could die. Everyday, this valid fear exists and is reinforced as police officers use their position of power against innocent Black lives. 

Last year, the command staff of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) met with staffers from Seattle's Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to brainstorm how to disentangle traffic enforcement from policing.

We at Whose Streets? Our Streets! are calling for SPD, SDOT, and OIG to step up and move forward with implementing changes that would allow police officers to be removed completely from low-level traffic enforcement. 

Law enforcement have proven time and time again that they will use traffic stops as an excuse to abuse their power and to kill innocent Black lives.

Rest in Peace, Jayland Walker.