A lawyer representing the family of a man who was shot and killed by police at an Ohio Walmart earlier this month claims surveillance video exists which tells a story vastly different than the one police provided.
On Aug. 5, 22-year-old John Crawford lll was shot and killed in the Beavercreek, Ohio store when police responded to a call about a man armed with an AR-15. As it turns out, Crawford had picked up a pellet air rifle from a shelf in the store's toy section.
According to WDTN, attorney Michael Wright says he's watched the surveillance video showing Crawford with his back to police, talking on the phone to his girlfriend just before his death. Wright adds that Crawford never raised the toy, and likely did not see or hear police prior to the shooting.
Although police have audio and dashboard camera footage depicting their response to the alleged incident, nothing offering an actual look at the shooting has been released to the public. In addition, police have shared the 911 call from a witness who initially claimed to see a man walking through the store and pointing a gun at children, though he was less positive of what he saw later during the call:
Police also made available audio of a 911 call from a witness, ex-Marine Ronald Ritchie, who said he saw a man "walking around with a gun in the store" and pointing it at two children.
Ritchie claimed the gun was a black rifle, and said "he's loading it right now." Later in the call, he wasn't so sure, saying, "He looked like he was trying to load it, I don't know."
Evidence in the case will be presented to a grand jury on Sep. 22. According to Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine, the public will not have the chance to view the surveillance footage of Crawford's shooting.
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