Justice for John Crawford: jury determines officers were ‘justified’ in Walmart killing
A special grand jury has decided not to indict the officers involved in the fatal shooting of John Crawford III in a southwest Ohio Walmart.
The Greene County grand jury determined the Beavercreek police officers were justified in shooting Crawford on Aug. 5.
The 22-year-old was found to have been carrying a BB/pellet rifle he picked up in the store. Police said they shot the Fairfield man because he ignored commands to drop the rifle, a statement the man’s family attorney disputes, according to the Dayton Daily News .
Surveillance video of actual shooting was released at news conference.
The footage shows Crawford holding the air rifle to his shoulder and walking around the store. It also shows several police officers rushing into the Beavercreek Walmart with guns drawn toward Crawford.
Vince Pope, attorney for the officers involved in the shooting, released the following statement: “I believe the grand jury’s decision, it’s absolutely the right decision, that the officers acted well within their training.”
The case gained national attention, becoming yet another example of an unarmed black man’s life being cut short at the hands of police.
The Crawford case is the county’s third police-involved fatal shooting in five years. The cops involved in the previous two cases were also not indicted.
We will continue to follow this story.
No matter the verdict, black lives, especially those of young black men, do matter.
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