Posted on 09/24/2014 8:17:16 PM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy
Editor's note: It is the general policy of Northeast Ohio Media Group not to show images of people being killed. We chose to publish this video because it addresses questions that have been raised about the behavior of the suspect and the police.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine released a surveillance video Wednesday showing John Crawford III being shot to death by police last month in a Dayton-area Walmart.
DeWine's release of the video and 9-1-1 recording coincided with a Greene County grand jury finding that Beavercreek police were justified in shooting the 22-year-old man, whom they believed was armed with a rifle.
In the footage, Crawford is seen talking on a cell phone and waving what turned out to be an air rifle at the end of a store aisle. Police arrived after a 9-1-1 caller reported that a man was waving around a gun and pointing it at people.
(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...
The poor kid never saw it coming, he went to a quiet corner of the store to stand in one spot and play with the toy gun alone.
If I was that caller, I would feel very bad about this, and as the cop, I wouldn’t be feeling too good about it either.
Me and millions and millions, and millions of us have handled toy guns in stores for generations, and generations, I doubt that many of us have been gunned down for it.
So is Crawford’s family and attorney.
What in the world?! The they shot him without any provocation. Talk about crazy overreaction.
The caller’s viewpoint was so restricted. The victim was not threatening anyone at any point. He was simply chatting on the phone and swinging a toy gun distractedly.
His behavior does seem bizarre from the view of the security cameras, but it is also pretty clear that the guy was not even thinking of pointing the “rifle” at anything or anyone. There was a mom and kids right down the aisle, and they did not seem afraid at all.
Of course, none of this was clear, but damn, the cops just killed him in cold blood. Couldn’t have even made a basic assessment before they shot.
its a lot of shoot first..ask questions/negotiate later around here..u just have to ignore the ignornce of some
Mike
You should get back on your meds. The guy did nothing to deserve being killed.
The poor guy went to what seemed to be a hidden corner of the store to play with the gun, he stood in one spot hefting it and testing it, and never pointed it at anyone, or wanted anyone to see him doing it.
When the kids came up to the isle he put it against his opposite side leg to keep it low key or hidden.
The caller lied when he said he pointed it at the kids.
Go to 4.22 on the video.
He wasn’t “swinging that gun around,” he was on a cellphone swinging a toy in the other hand. None of the shoppers seemed scared and even if they were, this man wasn’t threatening anyone.
Are you related to the cop here in Florida who killed that guy for texting? You sound just like him...
Just if they're messing around with it like they're loading it, then waving it all around. I vote the police are not guilty.
As a CCW holder I would've been really pissed seeing this nutjob doing that.
I'm going out on a limb to say that he was looking for a lawsuit against Walmart.
Well, he got the Darwin award for his efforts.
I read that it was a BB gun (an air rifle) he picked up at the store.
IOW, he picked it up at the store, and he was just talking on the phone while swinging it back and forth. He never pointed it at anyone in the video.
I guess he never thought anyone would think it was a real gun and that he was a threat.
The caller had a vivid imagination, to say the least.
Wow. Rarely have I ever felt the need to call someone an on this forum an ahole, but for you I make an exception.
Did you even watch the video? The cops murdered this guy. They did even take a moment to assess the situation. They just went in with guns blazing. Even looks like they finished him off after Crawford dropped the toy gun.
The cops and the 911 caller who lied his ass off should all go to prison. Looks like the cops will get a free pass, the city of Beaver Creek will pay Crawford's family a boatload of money and the NAACP now has a real case to hang on to. However, I have a feeling Mr. 911 Joe Citizen is going to face charges. Two people died because of his bull$hit.
If the officer(s) "feel threatened", of course. Or even if they don't feel threatened.
I find it fascinating that the Pennsylvania sniper-of-State-police-troopers "has a beef with law enforcement", but no one seems to know the particulars, even though he talked about it A LOT.
Things that make you go "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm". LOL! :)
Glad you watched the same video. I was beginning to think I was crazy.
FR is not the same these days. I guess we’re just not law and order enough...
Watched the video and listened to the call.
I think the 911 caller was calm and his observations reasonable.
Victim wasn’t too bright. Waving any kind of gun around, even a toy, especially when not in the toy department, is just asking for trouble.
Cops used to say “protect and serve”.
Now all I hear is “We all went home tonight”. I cannot really tell from the video but it looks to me like they just shot him down. I’m sorry but part of being a cop is taking risks. They should have gone through the whole “drop the weapon” routine.
It was an erroneous statement, not a malicious lie. There were children in the area, and the caller did believe the gun was real.
He also claimed that Crawford was loading the gun.
It did look like he could have been loading it at one point. Plus, I haven't seen any video of what Crawford was doing before he got to the pet food aisle.
The problem was not that the cop was white and the victim black. It is that cops shoot first now then ask what it is all about.
They all saw the other video with the hulking black thug pointing a black, fully automatic assault weapon at everyone who was in the vicinity.
Shows why eye witness testimony is so unreliable...
I cannot really tell from the video but it looks to me like they just shot him down.
...
He went down quickly, but then he got back up and moved toward the police officer and what they thought was a real gun. I believe that’s what led to the fatal shot.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. The suspect was stupid, the 911 caller/busybody wasn’t helping, and the cop sure did shoot fast. But those situations play out in a hurry, and it did look like a real “assault rifle,” the kind you wouldn’t want the guy to bring to bear on you.
I personally would have tried something a little calmer, but everyone’s expecting an “active shooter” so there’s not going to be a lot of allowance made for your average otherwise-innocent idiot.
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