Walmart Video Shows John Crawford Was Shot on Sight By Cops With No Warning, Family Attorneys Say
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/26/1324793/-Video-Shows-John-Crawford-Was-Shot-on-Sight-By-Cops-With-No-Warning-Family-Attorneys-Say
Walmart Video Shows John Crawford Was Shot on Sight By Cops With No Warning, Family Attorneys Say
Aug 26, 2014 2:13pm PDT by Steven D
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John Crawford was the unfortunate black man holding a BB gun in the toy section of a Walmart Store in Beavercreek, OH, when police, in response to several 911 calls, shot and killed him on August 5, 2014. Police have maintained that Crawford was waving the BB gun around in a threatening manner when they arrived and refused their commands to drop the "weapon" (even though Ohio is an "open carry" state), thus requiring his execution style death by cop.
However, Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine, who assigned the case investigating the police homicide of Mr. Crawford to a special prosecutor, recently allowed family members and their attorneys to view the surveillance tape from the store that shows the moments up to and including John Crawford's shooting death by police. After viewing that tape, the family's attorneys and Crawford's father dispute the police account of this incident in no uncertain terms:
Attorney Michael Wright said: "We need Mike DeWine to refer this case to the Department of Justice. Not to a special prosecutor."
Wright said Crawford did nothing wrong in Walmart. "Nothing more, nothing less than shopping."
Wright, who has seen store surveillance video of the shooting incident, said Crawford was shot while talking on the phone, holding the butt of the gun with the barrel pointed at the floor.
He said Crawford was "shot on sight" in a "militaristic" response.
This is extremely troubling news. Much like the case of Michael Brown, the family has been complaining that leaks about the investigation have benefited the police shooters and denigrated John Crawford's character.
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