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 ...
Oh, what am I thinking, Cawww? Of course you’re right!
It’s just as you said: All of those “dingbat teens and young people” buying air rifles in one department at Walmart and then carrying them through the store as they continue to shop - sheesh, what idiots they are.
Of course, the 911 caller who apparently lied and said the guy was pointing it at people - well, I guess he’s just an upstanding citizen.
And the police who shot right away without assessing the situation - that’s perfectly understandable. I mean, the guy was holding an air rifle that he’d just picked up. In Walmart. In a different department of the store. And he was moving it around. As he stood alone in an aisle.
So, of course he was shot.
And, of course, Walmart can’t be blamed.
BTW - YES, I’m being sarcastic.
If Walmart sells air rifles, just how many people have bought them there and then walked through the store while holding them, maybe even swinging them back and forth? My guess is - anyone who ever bought an air rifle at Walmart without using a cart might’ve swung it back and forth a little bit while holding it.
Is there some kind of warning posted: “Buy our air rifles. But watch how you carry them through the store.”
Around 10 years ago, I walked into a Walmart, and walking through the store were a father and son (I assumed) dressed in full camo and carrying rifles (I think). I assumed they were headed on a hunting trip.
But, hey, maybe I should’ve called 911.
Acting like an idiot should not be enough reason to have one’s life snuffed out. Nobody should be able to murder another human being just for being dumb, or weird, and get away with it.
And I could be wrong of course but the guy didn’t look like a typical thug from the couple of pics I saw.
This is sad. Each day I grow to like my fellow human beings less and less.
It was not a toy gun. It was an air rifle about as powerful as a .22 LR capable of killing or seriously injuring someone.
Why in the hell are these grand juries allowing these men to keep getting away with murder?! Being a police officer does not make you GOD. Nobody has the right to take another life so casually! Due diligence must always be played out and deadly force used as a last resort. If one cannot understand the risks involved in being a law enforcement officer then they should NOT be one.
Well said and documented! I really don’t get the people who are claiming the police shot this kid in “cold blood” for talking on his phone in a corner with a “toy” he picked up in another aisle in the store. It really doesn’t matter if it was a toy, BB gun or pellet rifle; the bottom line is as far as the police knows they are entering a store with a guy loading a rifle and pointing it at kids. They are not going to allow this guy to start spaying bullets down an aisle. They also do not know if this is some terrorist that may have accomplices and other weapons. If there is anyone to blame it is the 911 caller and unfortunately the kid who made a poor decision picking up a “toy” gun and swinging it around.
Yep. It's a no brainer.
Just the basics would have prevented a needless death.
Old saying: Never invite the man into your life. There are exceptions of course, but these days, they're getting fewer and fewer..
If the cops can’t distinguish between someone talking on the phone and a real threat, you have lousy - and dangerous - cops.
No excuse.
IIRC: Shortly after arriving at Parris Island, we were given a chance to back out of the deal. This came in the form of "admitting" to lying on your enlistment contract. You had to answer a bunch of questions when enlisting such as, "have you ever engaged in homosexual behavior," or "have you ever used illegal drugs." There must have been 20 or more questions along these lines. The correct answer to all of them was "no".
It was pretty well understood by everyone (though not explicitly stated), that this was an opportunity to quit.
So, I suspect "fraudulent enlistment" means he chickened out.
I’m not saying his actions were correct, but the gun was not “loaded.” He was certainly not displaying proper weapons handling by any means and he obviously never learned the first rule of gun safety.
Despite that, he obviously thought the gun a toy, and there is no way it was “capable of killing or seriously injuring someone.” Even airguns are not sold loaded or charged.
While you and I (and all from the gun culture) agree that all weapons should be treated as lethal at all times, most people today have no training and little understanding of guns. Air rifles, BB guns and paintball guns are considered toys by most people and I doubt many here could say they never did something stupid with some sort of air rifle. It’s a bit of a meme, you know: “it’s all fun and games til you shoot your eye out.”
Yes, the guy was not following basic gun safety rules, but he was acting in character with many, if not most, recreational airgun users. The only dangerous and criminal actions came from the caller and police.
Yeah, because people with bullets in them always act rationally - except for this guy.
In all those instances shots were fired.
This guy was shot down before they even said a word or he even said a word. Cops should be held to the same laws as we are: Only use deadly force in self defense. This was a case of “shoot first then claim self defense”. Only this involved a non weapon. There is no self defense.
Murder by 9-11, with the cops-as-weapon. Cops with no apparent sentience at all. 9-11 pulls the cop-trigger and the cops shoot. No questions asked. No evaluation done. No situational analysis performed.
Your phone is the trigger. Your local cops are the gun.
Murder by 9-11.
How easy it’s done.
All you have to do is lie.
I agree.
Another way to look at it is the bar is extremely low for the STATE to get the RESULT THAT IT WANTS from a grand jury.
Do you doubt for a moment that the grand jury "findings" in this case were exactly the results the state wanted?
The cops are supposed to be professionals. They are supposed to look at the whole picture.
So now any 911 caller can say anything, get the cops to do anything, and the cops can just say, "hey, the caller made us do it".
That's BS. Every one of the cops involved in this incident, all the way up to the top brass, deserves to be fired, at the very least.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.