The family of Jayland Walker, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Akron, it's police department, and Mayor, Dan Horrigan.

In the suit, announced Friday, June 16, the Walker family alleges police used excessive force when they shot and killed Walker last year.

In addition, the suit alleges that city officials fostered a "culture of racism" in the Police department.

During a press conference, Walker family attorney, Bobby DeCello, said "This lawsuit is way bigger than Jayland Walker. This has been a systemic failure. Policing in Akron has been an abomination.” To watch a clip from that press conference, posted on YouTube by the Associated Press, click here.

This lawsuit comes shortly before the one year anniversary of Walker's death, on June 27. This year, on that date, a number of local groups plan to protest in Washington, DC, and to ask the US Department of Justice to look into the Akron Police Department, and the circumstances surrounding Walker's death.

In April, a special Grand Jury convened to determine whether or not there had been any police wrongdoing, declined to return any criminal charges against the eight officers involved in the shooting, which ocurred after Walker, a 25 year old Black man, evaded a traffic stop. Police say he fled on the highway, allegedly shot at police along the way, then ran away from them after he got out of his car in a parking lot.

At the time, police said Walker had made a threatening gesture, and that they shot him in response. During the press conference when the Grand Jury's decision was announced, the Ohio Attorney General's office showed images on police bodycam video as evidence that Walker had turned, and made a cross-body motion with his arm, right before the eight officers opened fire. At least 90 bullets were fired, with 45 of them striking Walker.

In addition, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the Ohio Bureau of Investigations found a shell casing on a highway ramp fired from the gun they found in Walker's car, and concluded that he had fired on police first. After police shot him, they said they discovered that he was unarmed, and that his gun was on the front seat of his car.

In their lawsuit, the Walker family is asking for $45 million dollars in damages: "1 million dollars for each bullet that struck Jayland Walker".

The City of Akron has not issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, with city Spokesperson Stephanie Marsh emailing USA Today, "The City of Akron does not comment on pending litigation, so we won’t be sharing anything at this time."