Akron police have matched bullet casings found at the scene of a fatal police shooting to a gun that was found on the teenager who was killed, authorities said today. Two shell casings discovered at the northeast portion of the Miller South School property the night Akron police shot 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker, have been "positively matched" to the gun found in Tucker's jacket pocket, according to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network analysis, the Akron Police Department announced in a release. The teenage victim, Jazmir Tucker was shot on Thanksgiving night around 11 p.m. near Vernon Odom Boulevard and East Avenue in Sherbondy Hill.
As the Akron Beacon Journal reported, the investigation began when two Akron police officers left their cruiser to investigate the sound of gunshots in the vicinity and encountered Tucker outside Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts. One of the officers, a five-year veteran, subsequently fired his weapon at the teen. Tucker was later found with a gun, which had an extended magazine, and was buried under other items in a zipped pocket of his jacket, as seen in body camera footage obtained by News 5 Cleveland.
The body camera video, which was released to the public, has drawn scrutiny for not providing clear answers as to why the officer used lethal force or why officers waited more than seven minutes before providing aid to Tucker, whom they handcuffed even though he was already unresponsive. The officer responsible for shooting Tucker has been placed on paid leave, which is standard protocol, while the State Bureau of Criminal Investigation examines the case.
A separate inquiry is being led by the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability to evaluate the incident further. After the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation concludes its analysis of the shooting, it will present its findings to the Ohio Attorney General's office for review and subsequently to a Summit County Grand Jury, as Cleveland19 reported. Currently, the circumstances leading to the fatal shooting remain the subject of ongoing investigations, with the Tucker family being represented by the Cochran Firm Ohio, who have yet to comment on the latest update provided by Akron police.
