The last thing America needs right now is more protests and race riots, but it looks like that’s where we’re headed after police shot dead a 25-year-old unarmed black man following a car chase in Akron, Ohio last week.

Jayland Walker’s car was initially asked to pull over for a routine inspection at 00:30 on June 27. A chase followed during which police claim Walker fired a gunshot at them from his vehicle. He then ditched the car and started running. As officers chased him on foot, Walker turned around and seemed to “go down to his waist area”. The officers immediately opened fire with about 90 bullets, hitting Walker 60 times and killing him:

NOW – Police have released bodycam footage of the shooting of Jayland Walker in Akron, Ohio.

Walker was unarmed at the time of the shooting, but a gun was found in the car, police says. pic.twitter.com/9oREYZycIo

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 3, 2022

As per BBC News, Walker was unarmed but police then found a pistol with a loaded magazine in the seat of his car, with a bullet casing matching the weapon found nearby. For what it’s worth, of the 8 officers involved in the shooting, 7 of them were white and 1 was black. They’ve all been put on paid administrative leave.

Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, described Mr Walker’s death as “murder. Point blank”. Akron’s mayor urged locals to show patience as protests began.

So – was the killing of Jayland Walker justified and will this lead to another crazy summer of George Floyd-style demonstrations around America? Walker did fire at police (allegedly) from his car even though he was unarmed when they eventually killed him. Still, 60 bullets? Seems a tad excessive. I’m not sure where this story will end up going but I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile over in Norfolk, a police offer has received a written warning for fly-kicking a 15-year-old schoolgirl in the ribs. Bit harsh.