The man shot by police in an Ohio Walmart with a toy gun? Surveillance video proves he was no threat

[Beaverhausen]

Last edited Tue Aug 26, 2014, 11:26 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/video-shows-police-shot-ohio-man-on-sight-as-he-leaned-on-toy-gun-in-walmart-attorney-says/


SNIP

Police claim Crawford ignored their commands to drop the weapon, and the former Marine who called in the report and witnessed the shooting said Crawford “looked like he was going to go violently.”

But attorney Michael Wright said surveillance video from the incident, which Ohio’s attorney general allowed him to watch with Crawford’s family, contradicted those accounts.

“John was doing nothing wrong in Walmart, nothing more, nothing less than shopping,” Wright said.

The attorney said surveillance video showed Crawford facing away from officers, talking on the phone, and leaning on the pellet gun like a cane when he was “shot on sight” in a “militaristic” response by police.

SNIP

Edit: I just want to apologize for the awkward thread title that makes it sound like it was the police who had the toy gun. It should be worded differently but you all are smart enough and/or know this story already so you know what I meant.

[Blue_Adept]

1. I hate the idea of cameras everywhere

But damn, it's feeling like it's needed more and more. What a night and day accounting of what happened based on the initial reporting.

[sabrina 1]

4. Everyone needs to be carrying their own cameras so every time there is an incident involving

the police, and especially when their target is a minority, can film it from various different angles.

If they knew they were being filmed by dozens of witnesses they might be more careful, at least some of them and lives might be saved.

Security cameras are not always clear about what is happening but witnesses with cameras are more likely to focus on what is important.

[Wella]

7. If the police don't order you to stop taping or threaten you with arrest

That's been happening too.

[sabrina 1]

8. Yes, it has, but if everyone has one, it's going to harder for them to do so, as we can film

that also. They failed in their efforts, so far, to have filming them made illegal, an outrageous concept in the first place. They forget who pays their salaries.

[malaise]

32. +1,000

[hexola]

43. "Little Brother"

Not sure Orwell saw this angle...

[sabrina 1]

44. Exactly. Orwell probably didn't foresee the technology that makes this possible though people could

have used cameras even then.

I'm sure they will try again to make it illegal to film them at 'work' especially if everyone starts filming them.

OWS did that, it was part of their organization plans. And it came in very handy when the thousands of people who were falsely arrested ended up in court. Most of them were able to prove the cops were lying because of all the video they had, and most cases were dismissed as a result. However not one lying cop was held accountable.

[Blue_Tires]

2. How many more must there be??

Of course white folks can prance around with *REAL* AR-15s in the terminal of the Phoenix Airport, of all places...

[logosoco]

3. So how is it that those people were able to walk around Target stores

with guns strapped to their backs were not considered dangerous? Did any of them get shot?

[Beaverhausen]

5. You mean the white people with guns strapped to their backs?

No, they are not dangerous.

[savalez]

6. Ah come on. You know why. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Those white people with guns are to guard against black people without guns.

[redqueen]

14. White privilege. nt

[Cali_Democrat]

42. Bingo. nt

[heaven05]

10. Well he was one of those scary black males

LEANING on a toy. That 'former' Marine is probably sending money to wilson

[BronxBoy]

23. LOL.....

I like you.....

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Those killer cops better get indicted. I think the breaking point has been reached.

[BaggersRDumb]

26. We are only at the breaking point if MILLIONS OF WHITE PEOPLE get just as

angry as the targeted AA people are.

WE Have to join them, problem is how?

The oligarchy has us poor as church mice, we cant travel to organize, some of us cant take a day off to protest.

I dont have the answer

[jtuck004]

12. "He didn't really want to be looked at and when people did look at him, he was pointing the gu..."

"He didn't really want to be looked at and when people did look at him, he was pointing the gun at them. He was pointing at people, children walking by."

Google that witness statement if you are curious. Probably ought to look at the entire tape, because further searching indicates there are more witnesses.

If this is true, (and witness statements are often no better than partisan attorney statements), it's not a story about innocent shopper gunned down. For that
matter these days, if true, he and the other shoppers are fortunate some weapon-carrying-good-citizen didn't open up on him and start spraying the store.

Didn't have to happen.

If Walmar$ had a store policy of having ALL things that look like guns locked behind a case or in packaging that can't be removed easily and have an associate present when the case is opened he might no have died there.

I learned this when I was a small child, however. One should never, ever point even a toy gun at strangers, unless they are ready to shoot. This is why.

[BronxBoy]

16. I heard the attorney on one of the largest Black syndicated national radio shows....

He says he really couldn't discuss it because of his agreement with Governor Dewine but did say that it was an unprovoked and brutal shooting.. He said the video shows that the pellet gun was unwrapped and that the victim simply picked it up. He also said that there was no attempt to engage by the police....only shots.

That witness may turn out to be an attention seeking asshole. He was White and ex-military so everyone ate the spoonfed bullshit without a second thought. If Dewine gave it to a special prosecutor and also allowed the victims family to see it, there's more to it than meets the eye. And maybe the "witness" was so gung-ho, he misread the entire situation. You don't think WalMart turned over the entire tape?

And why is a White man's eyewitness more sancrosint than those of Black eyewitnesses??? I've seen people tear apart the interviews of Black eyewitnesses who were present at the Brown shoting yet we are supposed to give this gut a pass???? Why????

I'll guess we'll see. There's video so someone's lying....

[From The Ashes]

24. it's not Governor DeWine...

..he's the Attorney General.

[BronxBoy]

25. Thank you....

Did he hold another office at some point in time or am I thinking of another Dewine?

[From The Ashes]

27. I think he was a Senator...n/t

[FarPoint]

29. The witness claims to be an ex marine....

He is a George Zimmerman want a be....He was the catalyst of this chaos. That's my opinion.

[FarPoint]

30. Mike DeWine is the Attorney General of Ohio now...

Many remember him as the * bush minion, Senator DeWine, (R}. We have fox news host Kasich (R) as out puny governor.

[BronxBoy]

35. Thank you for correcting my mistake...n/t

[FarPoint]

36. I don't often step on toes....

I just thought that this crime is so very offensive that knowing the GOP players will be necessary to weed through the mud they may sling down the road. DeWine already delayed the Grand Jury review from early September to late September.

[BronxBoy]

38. No worries....

I was wrong and you corrected an obvious factual error. And you and another poster did so without biting my head off and without being snarky. Thanks!

[jtuck004]

40. That witness may turn out to be an attention seeking asshole < Yeah, I had the same

thought as well.

We shall see.

[Mustellus]

13. and Beavercreek, Ohio had just lost a federal case...

.. trying to keep the bus lines out of town. We have two nice malls here, and lots of townsfolk seemingly don't want those people shopping here.

I posted several times in the local paper that if I wanted to come to the Beavercreek malls to rob, rape, and murder, I'd want a nice dependable bus line to plan my getaway....

So I guess the next best thing to keeping the buses out is to shot a few of those people .....

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. From the linked article ...

“John was doing nothing wrong in Walmart, nothing more, nothing less than shopping,” Wright said.

Here ... let me make it more understandable ...

This:



Versus, this:

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTmCsEfGJiqVjZ_33TBHiccoNPUx3j3vdI9WJbFz5xsXUeA5wfy

Or, this:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSya7Iu3N4goszA_Rg-tKFJKr9-LSYypcdBQzckxAmWWFQb3pZC

Or, this:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsxnij0jv-kPCPz_0gbFKVJRoQ0zGaww-3z7xC96bMjPsPQjwl

Huge difference!

[BronxBoy]

18. But.....

a White, ex-military eyewitness says otherwise so I guess it's "case closed"

If that's the case....Darren Wilson should be buried in a jail so deep he can't see night for day

[1StrongBlackMan]

19. Funny ...

I was going to speak on that ... in this thread, the same "let's wait for the evidence/the Black eyewitness can't be believed" defender of Wilson, took the "white, ex-military" guys word for what happened

Color me DU-shocked!

[BronxBoy]

22. Yep......

I heard the attorney for Mr. Crawford's family on the Tom Joyner show the other day. He did not sound like a man who was telling tales out of school about what he saw on that tape. And you could tell he really wanted to recount what he saw.

Same shit with the latest audio recording that was released in the Brown case. 'Sounds Hokey" "Not Legit" and all that other bullshit. And here's the funny thing...listening to that guy...not so sure it was "romance or flirting" . I have a very good idea why he may not have paid attention to those shots.... And if it is what I think it is...more power to him because you know he will be raked over the coals nationally by certain media types.

But the mountain is getting higher isn't it?

[FarPoint]

33. You should share these pictures with attorney Wright.

Everything helps.

[ReRe]

17. And we have to remember, this incident...

... caused another person to die... the woman who had a panic attack and died of a heart attack.

Remember all the folks here on DU who actually blamed Crawford? The customer (a woman I believe) that called it in was prejudiced and scared of the black man holding the toy gun. In essence, she screamed "fire" in a crowded theater, and everyo0ne fell for it, including the police dept dispatcher and the cops who came in with guns blazing. Two innocent people, dead.

Take the GD realistic-looking guns off the market, period! Or, like someone suggested, make them rainbow colored so there will be no effing doubt that it IS a TOY. No more realistic-looking toy guns!

Both cops need to be held accountable, period.

[BronxBoy]

20. I do......

Some of them actually still are. At some point the video will be made public and we'll see what went down. It's very tiring to see that time after time after time, that the experiences and feelings of Black folk always need to take a backseat to those of White people in this country.

The word of a White, ex-military "eyewitness" seems to be more valuable than those folks who steeped forward in the Michael Brown case.

[ReRe]

41. Will we every just...

... all be people? Citizens? Since I was a wee child, I have always wondered what made some people feel they were better than someone else. It just didn't add up to me. I was one of those kids that constantly asked "Why?" I wanted to know why things had to be the way they were. It seemed nothing made sense. As for the race issue... my Momma always taught us that we are all "God's children." That skin color meant nothing, that we were all the same otherwise. Now THAT made sense.

[HipChick]

21. Lets wait for the facts..

There is a war on black males in the US...oh wait

[FarPoint]

28. I live in Dayton, Ohio. The attorneys for Crawford Family are excellent!

Attorney General DeWine is noticeably worried that this can go into Ferguson protest mode...and he should be nervous. This was another racial profiling cop kill.

[malaise]

31. Tut Tut

Being black is a threat.

[greatlaurel]

34. DeWine will do nothing to seek justice for Mr. Crawford. DeWine is running for re-election this Nov.

He is the most corrupt Attorney General in the history of the state of Ohio. His pay to play schemes to enrich himself and his campaign contributors at the expense of the Ohio taxpayers are clearly illegal. His scandalous behavior gets no press in Ohio, since all the news outfits in Ohio are pretty much owned by staunch right wingers. DeWine fights hard against gay marriage,though.

DeWine will do nothing to seek justice for a black man. This will be hidden from view and ignored. Unfortunately, the people need to react the same way as the people in Ferguson did and take to the streets. Mr DeWine has no interest in investigating this and nothing to gain in seeking justice for Mr. Crawford. If he did, it would outrage the ignorant fools who vote for him. His investigation in the rape incident in Steubenville was great press for him, because he got to put in prison a black teenager. The white coaches and administrators that were involved in covering up the crime were given a free pass.

DeWine is a career politician from southwestern Ohio. He was a 2 term senator from Ohio until he was defeated by the great Sherrod Brown.

[FarPoint]

37. Bingo!!!!

You must be an Ohioan too...

[BronxBoy]

39. That's disappointing to hear....

Not surprised but disappointing. The attorney seemed so optimistic after seeing the video. I wonder if he was shown the entire tape.

[Fumesucker]

45. Evidently April Ritchie had a broken ankle and was riding a scooter following this dangerous shooter

Her husband must think highly of her skills in order for a former Marine to allow his wife to follow a presumed mass shooter with an assault rifle on a scooter while nursing a broken ankle.

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/news/report-shooting-beavercreek-wal-mart/ngxN2/

April and Ronald Ritchie, in an interview Wednesday night with News Center 7's Jessica Heffner and Dayton Daily News Staff Writer Kelli Wynn, said they were in the hardware department when they saw a man leaving an aisle and walk past them with the rifle pointed toward the sky.

"He got on his cell phone right after he walked past me," April Ritchie said. Ritchie was on her cell phone, talking with her mother. She had broken an ankle and was riding a scooter.

They followed the man at a safe distance and Ronald Ritchie, a former Marine, called 911 at 8:21 p.m.
"Anytime I saw people walking his way, I would get their attention," April Ritchie said, waving her hands for the reporters to demonstrate what she did. She said at one point, a family was standing next to the man with the rifle, but didn't notice the rifle. The man turned to look at them with a stare she described as if he was telling them, "don't come near me."