The newly released autopsy report of the 15-year-old fatally shot by an Akron police officer on Thanksgiving sheds light on how he died and how many times he was shot.
Jazmir Tucker sustained three gunshot wounds: two to his torso and one to his arm, Summit County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler said in a Wednesday press conference.
The torso wounds entered his mid-back and lower back, Kohler said. One bullet entered the left side of his back, injuring multiple internal organs, and exited the left lower chest, Kohler said.
“Both of the wounds to the torso were lethal,” Kohler said.
Quicker medical aid likely would not have saved his life, Kohler added. One of the torso wounds damaged his heart and lungs and was “rapidly lethal,” Kohler said.
Community members and city leaders have criticized the responding officers for not rendering aid for approximately seven minutes after he was shot.
“Because the heart was damaged by the gunshot wound injury, more rapid aid would not have changed course of events here,” Kohler said. "The wound to his heart would have been very devastating and rapid."
The cause of death was ruled a homicide, she added.
“Our ruling of homicide is a medical ruling meaning death at the hands of another and is not a legal conclusion,” Kohler said.
Tucker’s death and the released body camera footage of the incident sparked calls for the officer to be fired, as well as questions about the events leading up to the shooting. The officers who responded to the scene did not activate their body cameras. Their cameras were turned on automatically when another cruiser near the scene activated its lights, according to city officials.
In a statement released following the press conference, attorneys for the Tucker family, the Cochran Law Firm, said the autopsy indicates Tucker was shot in the back.
"The tragic death of Jazmir Tucker was made even more difficult for his family today with the revelation that he was struck in the back by two bullets from an officer with the Akron Police Dept.,” attorneys said in the statement. “Jazmir's family is devastated knowing that it now appears he wasn't even looking in the officer's direction when he was shot and killed.”
Kohler was not able to speculate on whether Tucker was running away when he was shot, she said. Medical officials were also not able to determine what position Tucker was in when he was shot, Kohler added.
“That is based as though he were standing in anatomic position upright with his hands down to his side,” Kohler said.
One bullet was recovered from Tucker’s body. It appeared to be a “small caliber” bullet, Kohler said.
Following the press conference, Mayor Shammas Malik released a statement thanking the medical examiner's office and expressing condolences to the Tucker family.
"I want to thank the staff of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s office for their work in preparing the report that was shared today. This report will be part of the evidence reviewed in the independent investigation being conducted by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI)," Malik wrote. "As this process continues, and particularly on this day, I want to again express my heartfelt sympathies to the family and loved ones of Jazmir Tucker."
The chair of Akron’s Citizens Police Oversight Board, Kemp Boyd, said his initial reaction to the autopsy findings was sadness, as well as disappointment.
“You’re still talking about a 15-year-old young man who was shot, and I think where he was shot brings a little bit more of a concern and it brings up more questions,” Boyd said.
Board members want to schedule community engagement events in the coming weeks in partnership with the police department, so that officers can be there to answer citizens’ questions and concerns directly, Boyd added.
The oversight board will conduct its own investigation into the Tucker shooting after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation completes its review and the police department does an internal review, Boyd said.
Ray Greene Jr., executive director of community organizing group Freedom BLOC called for the officer who shot Tucker to be terminated.
“The autopsy makes it clear: Jazmir Tucker was not a threat to Officer Fields or anyone else. He was shot in the back, suggesting he was walking or running away,” said Greene Jr. “This senseless killing adds to the long and painful history of state violence against Black youth, and it demands immediate accountability and systemic reform.”
Greene is also calling for a federal investigation into the Akron Police Department’s policies and practices.
What does the autopsy show?
Per Ohio law, the medical examiner’s office has not released copies of the autopsy to the media, but journalists can view the documents without taking notes or pictures. Ideastream Public Media reviewed the autopsy Wednesday.
According to the autopsy report, Tucker was unresponsive with a faint pulse when emergency medical services got to the scene of the shooting. He had multiple gunshot wounds to the sides of his body, back and arm, according to the autopsy report.
Tucker arrived at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center at approximately 11:24 p.m. in cardiac arrest. Emergency room personnel attempted multiple resuscitative procedures, including a left thoracotomy, a surgical procedure to make an incision in the chest to access internal organs, medical officials said.
Tucker was pronounced dead at the hospital five minutes later at 11:29 p.m.
Tucker was shot three times. Officials were unable to determine the order of the shots.
One of the bullets entered the left side of his back and injured several major organs including Tucker’s heart, left lung, stomach and spleen. It exited his body through the left side of his chest.
Another bullet entered Tucker’s lower back and injured the pelvis and small intestine.
Another entered Tucker’s right bicep. Medical officials were not able to determine the entrance and exit directions, according to the report.
A toxicology report detected marijuana in Tucker’s system.
Officials recovered a vape pen, brush, pencil and $1.02 from Tucker’s clothing.
The medical examiner did not test Tucker's hands for gunshot residue because this practice has been found to be inaccurate over the years, Dr. Kohler said. Summit County typically has not done such testing since 2016, she added.
An Ohio BCI special agent observed the autopsy, which is protocol during investigations, according to medical examiner officials.
Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Shott began conducting the autopsy the day after Tucker was shot on Nov. 29, 2024, Kohler said. Kohler reviewed the findings and signed off on the report on Jan. 14, she said.
