Source cleveland.com
CLEVELAND – An Akron man was shot less than 40 seconds after an officer told him to get out of a rented truck, body camera footage shows.
The video, released Saturday, shows how Michael Donnell Jones, 54, died Aug. 17. State agents are investigating the shooting, and Akron police are expected to do an internal review of the case.
“My heart goes out to his family in this loss,” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said in a statement released with the footage. “While it is never easy to watch someone’s last moments, I believe it is important that our community has a clear picture of what we know so far.”
At 1:04 a.m. on Aug. 17, Akron police officers saw what they believed to be a stolen U-Haul in the parking lot of a gas station in the 2200 block of East Avenue, police said.
An officer walked up to the driver’s door, knocked on it and told Jones to step out because he was under arrest, according to the video.
“For what?” Jones said, as a second officer approached the vehicle.
The second officer pressed into the car, attempting to handcuff Jones, the video shows. The U-Haul began to accelerate and turned right, looping onto the street in front of the gas station, as the officers wrestled with Jones for the steering wheel, body camera and surveillance videos show.
“You should have got f------ shot,” one officer yelled to Jones as they are fighting for control of the steering wheel.
Immediately after that, an officer fired two gunshots, the video indicates. Jones let go of the steering wheel, and the U-Haul came to a stop. The two officers pulled Jones out of the truck and handcuffed him, according to the footage.
After that, the officer who fired his weapon grabbed a medical kit from the police car. The other officer patted Jones down and recovered a silver handgun he said was loaded, according to the body camera footage. Jones was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police have not yet identified either of the officers involved. The officer who fired his weapon has been on the force for nearly three years. He was placed on administrative leave, per department policy, police said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will give a completed examination to prosecutors, who will take the case to a grand jury to determine whether charges are to be filed.
______
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit cleveland.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
