Family Members of Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor Arrested at Jayland Walker Protest
© AP Photo / Morry Gash
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Protests against police violence and brutality have been ongoing in Akron, Ohio, after police shot and killed Jayland Walker. Walker was unarmed at the time and a preliminary medical report indicated that he suffered more than 60 gunshot wounds.
Jacob Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, and Breonna Taylor’s aunt, Bianca Austin were arrested Wednesday night while attending a protest in Akron, Ohio, against the police killing of Jayland Walker.
Protesters gathered in front of the Akron Police Department on Wednesday after a curfew was lifted by Mayor Dan Horrigan. The curfew was originally put in place after protests against the killing broke out last week.
The younger Jacob Blake was paralyzed after police shot him multiple times in the back. Breonna Taylor was killed by police while sleeping in her bed after law enforcement executed a no-knock warrant on her residence. Since those incidents, both Blake Sr and Austin have become active in the movement against police brutality and violence.
Justin Blake, a relative of Jacob Blake, told NBC that Jacob Blake Sr and Austin traveled to Akron with Families United, a group fighting against police brutality. They planned to support the family of Walker and the community protests.
A video posted by activist Russell Ellis, who goes by the Instagram and Twitter handle jolly_good_ginger, is purported to have been filmed by Austin. In the video, police can be seen chasing and then restraining a man while another cop punches him directly in the face. Ellis says that the man in the video is Michael Harris.
Full video on my TikTok or IG. Akron Police just assaulted and arrested Jacob Blake Sr. Mr Blake has been transported to a local hospital. #freejakeblake #freepressure pic.twitter.com/MbDcVVLlig
— jolly_good_ginger (@jollygoodginger) July 7, 2022
After police throw Harris to the ground, Blake Sr can be seen attempting to address the police and possibly putting his hands on the back of a police officer in the process of restraining Harris. He is then seen being arrested by police.
Blake Sr, who is elderly and disabled, was then reportedly transported to a hospital, where he remains. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest, and he will likely be transported from the hospital to Summit County Jail after being released. Ellis, who says he spoke with Blake Sr on the phone, says he is in stable condition and his medical issue is not life-threatening.
Another video, taken sometime later, shows Austin and another activist, Cortez Rice, sitting in what appears to be the same van that appears in the earlier video while parked in an empty parking lot. Police approach the van and Cortez can be heard telling police that they are in the middle of an interview. They are both arrested and police can be heard refusing to tell them what they are being arrested for.
Harris and Blake Sr were charged with rioting, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and failure to disperse, according to Fox8. Austin was charged with rioting. Rice was charged with rioting, disorderly conduct, and failure to disperse, according to 19News.
Ellis says that Austin and Rice have since been bailed out. However, he further claims that a judge set bail for Michael Harris and that his advocacy fund has tried to bail him out but that they cannot because Harris is being uncooperative with police staff, a claim Ellis says Harris denied in a phone call.
Akron Police are literally holding Michael Harris even though bail was set and we can pay that bail. They are lying because they don’t want people to see what they did to his face. pic.twitter.com/fOwT4RYW6A
— jolly_good_ginger (@jollygoodginger) July 7, 2022
