An Ohio police officer fired his gun 15 times at a man the local mayor said was likely unarmed, shown on graphic body camera footage newly released as the officer's actions are under investigation.
The police shooting unfolded on Nov. 11 shortly after 9 p.m. in Akron, Ohio. The 36-year-old man was repeatedly struck by gunfire moments after the officer arrived on the scene and is in critical condition, reported the Akron Beacon Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
On Nov. 18, the Akron Police Department released footage from the body camera worn by the officer who fired his weapon and audio from a 911 call in which the caller reported the man was brandishing a gun in the parking lot of an Akron bar and pointing it inside.
"(I)t is our current understanding that he did not have a gun on his person at the time he encountered our officers, even though callers reported he was armed," Mayor Shammas Malik said in a statement. "I recognize how difficult and confusing this could be for many in our community, and I feel the weight of those concerns."
Authorities are investigating whether the man, who appeared to be White, had a gun at some point before the officer arrived, Malik said.
