Prosecutors: Investigation into fatal shooting of Jazmir Tucker enters legal review
Mahoning County prosecutors are now reviewing the fatal police shooting of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation completed its investigation on March 25.
Akron and Summit County prosecutors' offices announced the update on May 23 in a news release issued nearly six months after Akron police officer Davon Fields shot and killed Jazmir outside Miller South School on Thanksgiving.
Although BCI completed its investigation, prosecutors explained that the inquiry will not be publicly available until any potential legal proceedings have concluded.
The Summit County Prosecutor's Office adopted a policy in 2020 to refer police shootings to the Ohio Attorney General's Office "to ensure fairness and to avoid the appearance of any potential conflicts of interest between local prosecutors and law enforcement officers who often work together," the news release read.
The Attorney General's Office can then send the case to another county prosecutor's office for review.
Fields and another officer heard gunfire near Miller South School for Visual and Performing Arts after 11 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2024.
When they investigated, they spotted Jazmir and ran after him, according to body camera footage. Fields fatally shot Jazmir twice in the back and once in the arm with his rifle.
Akron police officers waited roughly 10 minutes before providing medical aid to Jazmir, who was unresponsive. When they searched him, they found a firearm in his zipped-up coat pocket. Officers said shell casings found at the scene matched Jazmir's gun.
Jazmir was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his wounds.
Fields was placed on paid administrative leave immediately after the shooting, in line with department policy. The investigation was turned over to BCI, which completed its inquiry on March 25.
From there, the Ohio Attorney General's Office turned the case over to the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office for legal review.
Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Investigation into fatal shooting of Jazmir Tucker enters legal review
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