John Crawford III died Aug. 5 after police were called to Walmart in Beavercreek, near Dayton, by another shopper who reported a man carrying what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle.
The 22-year-old Crawford was instead carrying an unpackaged MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/pellet rifle he picked up in the store’s toy department.
“John was doing nothing wrong in Walmart, nothing more, nothing less than shopping,” Wright said.
“I thought the family had the right to view it,” DeWine said. “The mom did not want to view it; I understand it. The dad did view it, (but) to put the video out on TV is not the right thing to do.”
“Everything released is one-sided,” Wright said. “There is nothing favorable to John Crawford. You can’t show different pieces, show it all, don’t trickle pieces to gain favor of the public.” He said the video suggests Crawford probably did not see or hear officers as they arrived.
“He said he was at the video games playing videos, and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were,” said LeeCee Johnson, the mother of his two children. “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.” Johnson put the phone on speaker mode, and she and Crawford’s parents heard him die.
“I could hear him just crying and screaming,” Johnson said. “I feel like they shot him down like he was not even human.”
Sgt. David Darkow, one of the officers involved in shooting Crawford, has already been allowed to resume his duties. The other, however (a Sean Williams), remains on administrative leave.