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Today, August 5, marks the one-year anniversary of the death of John Crawford III, shot and killed by a Beavercreek police officer inside the Walmart store while carrying an air rifle.
Crawford, 22, of Fairfield, was talking on his cell phone in the pet food department while carrying a pellet gun he picked up in another part of the store. Another store customer, Ronald T. Richey, called 911, telling the dispatcher Crawford was “pointing the gun” at people and said the thought at one point Crawford was loading the gun.
Two officers, Sean Williams and Sgt. David M. Darkow, immediately responded to the call and found Crawford in the left corner of the store.
In a grand jury investigation, the officers said they ordered Crawford repeatedly to put the gun down and shot him when he turned toward them “in an aggressive manner,” according to official statements made by Williams.
Sgt. Darkow, in his official account of the shooting, said he and Williams yelled for Crawford to drop the weapon and get on the ground, but Crawford just “looked in our direction” while holding the rifle and then made a quick movement, at which time Williams shot him.
A special grand jury decided not to hand down indictments in the case.
Walmart shopper Angela Williams collapsed in the store after the shooting. She was declared dead at nearby Soin Medical Center.
A video released by BCI shows Angela Williams and her children seeing Crawford in one part of the store before moving on. Nearly two minutes later, Angela Williams, 37, is seen reacting to the sound of gunfire, retrieving her son and daughter and starting to run through the store before falling about 20 seconds later.
Greene County Coroner Dr. Kevin Sharrett said Angela Williams, a staffing supervisor at Villa Springfield nursing home, had an irregular heartbeat causing a cardiac arrest as a consequence of heart disease.
The Justice Department is investigating the incident and has yet to issue any findings.
