No Indictment Of Cops In Walmart Shooting As Surveillance Video Shows Killing Of John Crawford
[su_right_ad]After refusing to do so for weeks, prosecutors released the surveillance video showing the police shooting and killing John Crawford III in an Ohio Walmart, just in time for the police officers involved to avoid a criminal indictment for the shooting.
On August 5, the 23 year-old Crawford was shot and killed by police for, essentially, holding a toy gun while black. When another customer saw Crawford carrying an air rifle he had picked up from the shelf at Walmart, the customer called 911 and reported a black man carrying what looked like an AR-15 (which is legal to do in Ohio, anyway) and allegedly pointing it at people.
Police said Crawford was waving the air rifle and ignored their commands to put it down, but according to LeeCee Johnson, the other of Crawford’s two children, she was on the phone with him at the time of the shooting:
“We was just talking. He said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting and they said ‘Get on the ground,’ but he was already on the ground because they had shot him,” she said, adding: “And I could hear him just crying and screaming. I feel like they shot him down like he was not even human.”
This week, though, attorney for the Crawford family Michael Wright says that he has seen surveillance footage from the store that shows Crawford was leaning on the air gun, barrel pointed down, when police shot him “on sight.”
Today, at a press conference announcing that the grand jury would not be indicting the two officers involved, Special Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier finally released the video of the shooting. The unedited footage not only shows that Crawford never held the weapon in a remotely threatening manner, but appears to have put it down before he was shot. Here’s the disturbing, unedited video…READ MORE
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Carla Akins September 25th, 2014 at 5:36 am
This is exactly why we fear Michael Brown will never see justice. If it was justifiable for police to shoot Crawford on sight before assessing the situation clearly seen on video, does anyone delude themselves into thinking Wilson will ever be indicted?
rg9rts September 25th, 2014 at 8:29 am
Based on a 911 call that the caller changes his story of what was happening.
Carla Akins September 25th, 2014 at 8:44 am
Yes, the original 911 caller was hugely responsible for Crawford’s shooting (IMHO) but they did have this video and they still did not indict the police. I fear with no actual video, Wilson will never be indicted for Brown’s shooting.
rg9rts September 25th, 2014 at 8:51 am
The audio is not there…
Jason Yahner September 25th, 2014 at 9:39 am
Without a video it will come down to forensic evidence. If Brown was shot inside the cop car wrestling with the cop then he got the justice one should expect.
causeican September 25th, 2014 at 9:49 am
I’ll listen to the witnesses and not assume.
Carla Akins September 25th, 2014 at 10:07 am
Except we have been given no reason to trust this investigation – even from the DOJ
Jason Yahner September 25th, 2014 at 10:36 am
This investigation would be done at the state level. And no reason to trust the investigation? Why because they didn’t release the officers name during a riot. A man that is innocent until proven guilty. And what about his justice if the cop is found innocent?
Carla Akins September 25th, 2014 at 11:31 am
Because they did not follow their own protocol and has since displayed complete disregard for the victim. How many civil, procedural and legal violations does it take before you lose faith?
Jason Yahner October 25th, 2014 at 1:58 pm
I wanted to revisit this now that it has come out that Brown was first shot while inside the drivers window of the cop car at close range. So Wilson was in the car and Micheal Brown was coming through the drivers window?
Carla Akins October 25th, 2014 at 6:39 pm
This is based on an edited and slanted release of evidence – I don’t believ for a minute this is the full story, but an intention leak designed to support Wilson’s version.
NW10 September 25th, 2014 at 7:03 am
Police negotiate with drunk open carry white man who asked police to shoot him. No charges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-1UY9aMDWE
Proving that white privilege does exist.
rg9rts September 25th, 2014 at 8:28 am
Wish there was audio
Bunya September 25th, 2014 at 3:00 pm
What is this “shoot first, ask questions maybe” attitude the cops, all of a sudden, are projecting? Did they learn nothing from Ferguson?
Rusty Shackleford September 25th, 2014 at 11:04 pm
They learned plenty. Darren Wilson is on paid vacation and the state police continue to inflict violence upon the populace daily without consequence. You’ll not only get away with it, you’ll have countless apologists and corrupt officials leap to your defense, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations you’ll get from racists nationwide!
Red Eye Robot September 29th, 2014 at 11:17 am
Oooops! 911 caller may have been motivated by Moms demand action / everytown and liberal radio host Mike Malloy http://bearingarms.com/crank-call-walmart-shooting-victims-family-wants-charges-filed-swatter/?utm_source=bafbp&utm_medium=fbpage&utm_campaign=baupdate