Associated Press
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio — Ohio’s attorney general said he won’t publicly release surveillance video of a man fatally shot by police at a Dayton-area Wal-Mart despite a growing effort by family and supporters on social media calling for it.
Facebook groups and online petitions have been created pushing for the release of the video of police killing of John Crawford III inside of a Wal-Mart store in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek on Aug. 5, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Crawford was fatally shot by officers responding to a 911 call that a man was waving a rifle in the store. They said Crawford refused orders to drop the weapon, which turned out to be a pellet rifle he had taken off a store shelf.
His supporters say the public has a right to know what happened. People and groups ranging from the president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s civil rights group National Action Network have called for the tape’s release.
Crawford was black. The officers involved in his shooting are white.
But DeWine said releasing the video would be “playing with dynamite” because it could compromise the investigation and taint a potential jury pool.
Rallies have been staged pushing for release of the video and also in support of the police.
Wal-Mart customer Angela Williams, 37, also died that day. She collapsed from a medical condition while trying to flee the chaos in the store with her 9-year-old daughter.
A special grand jury on Sept. 22 will determine if any charges should be brought against the officers. As part of the investigation, authorities closed the 24-hour store for several hours last week to re-enact the shooting.
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