Judge: Probable cause to prosecute 911 caller in Beavercreek Walmart shooting

[Quackers]

Source: WLWT NBC Affiliate

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -
A judge has ruled that there is probable cause to prosecute the 911 caller in the John Crawford case.

The 22-year-old Crawford from Fairfield was shot and killed by a Beavercreek police officer on Aug. 5, 2014, while holding a pellet gun inside the Beavercreek Walmart.


Police officers who were dispatched to the store, shot and killed Crawford.

A portion of the 911 call in question follows:

Caller: "My name is [Redacted]. He just pointed it at two children."

Dispatcher: "OK, I do have officers there. So stay on the line with me, OK?"

The caller reported Crawford was waving what appeared to be a rifle in the store. Police said he didn't obey commands to put down what turned out to be an air rifle taken from a shelf.

The judge noted that video surveillance from the moment described by the caller did not match what the caller described to dispatchers.

Read more: http://m.wlwt.com/news/judge-probable-cause-to-prosecute-911-caller-in-beavercreek-walmart-shooting/38899258

---

Not sure if people remember but my wife's cousin also died that night in the store because the caller induced panic. She had a heart attack.

[Warpy]

1. YES!!!

I've said from Day One that the bigot who made the call and lied to the cops needed to be prosecuted.

[phazed0]

2. That is the worst idea I think I have ever heard.

People make 911 calls all the time, a significant portion of those calls are "no problem" calls... that is, we know eyewitness testimony is often incorrect. It is upon the responding officers to assess the threat, period. The caller had a semi-legit call.. he thought a guy was in Walmart with a real rifle... would you go up to the guy with the rifle and ask if it's real?

Now, are we to prosecute and jail people who call 911 when their calls don't pan out? I bet if we did that crime would go up because less people would be willing to put themselves in legal danger when calling for help.

The cops need to be prosecuted, if anything. Sorry, but your argument is just looking for more people to blame. It's silly.

[PatV]

4. The caller LIED about what he said happened. He should have been charged for

more than this long ago.

[phazed0]

10. It's hard to see in the video..

but at 40 seconds into it, there is a mother and two kids.. I can't see how the gun is pointed, but it wasn't being treated as a gun, careful to NEVER point the barrel at anything you don't want to kill.

I'm not defending the caller or the police.. but the video, to me, is pretty telling. The cops did dick to figure out what was going on.. they just started blasting.

Here's the whole video:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/sep/25/ohio-shooting-walmart-video

The kid clearly throws the gun and hides from the incoming guns... then he comes out from behind the shelves.. looks like he was listening to them, to me.

[uppityperson]

19. "He just pointed it at two children." is very different from what he said the next day

In the next-day interview, the caller told the Associated Press that the man actually didn't point the gun at people but swung it around and flashed the muzzle at children.

Also

The judge noted that video surveillance from the moment described by the caller did not match what the caller described to dispatchers

[Warpy]

5. I might tell him that it would be safer if he carried it by the barrel

although I usually leave the area when I see anyone toting a gun. They don't sell them in the Wally's in my dangerous area. They do in the more rural areas.

[JunkYardDogg]

17. The caller stated soon after the shooting that he lied

Before you defend racist assholes who want to see cops kill black guys, you should put more effort into learning the facts
But then that is not what trolls do, is it?
The caller admitted soon after that he made up that gun threatening story and that he disliked black people
He thought what he did was funny
He just wanted to see a black guy get jacked up by the cops
Kind of a good ol' boy cracker past time, eh?

[PatrickforO]

22. Which is why the jerk needs to be prosecuted.

You don't do that shit to someone, anyone. That's just wrong.

[TeamPooka]

23. Like yelling Fire in a crowded movie theater. Prosecute.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

18. wrong

...

[Old Codger]

21. HE LIED

The caller described something that was no occurring in what appears to be an attempt to get someone killed and they succeeded, the police depended on an honest description and were being lied to ...

[mark67]

3. Prosecute the Jack*ss!

I've often wondered if this case would ever see the light of day. An absolute abuse of the system.

[Joe Chi Minh]

40. Death penalty.

[Beaverhausen]

6. This is good, but the police should also be charged

[Schema Thing]

8. ^absolutely... And with much more substantial charges.

In fact, it seems to me that a good defense attorney could simply use the fact that the trained professional shot the man as a defense of his client calling 911.

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. Good, I hope the prosecuters can get a decent conviction.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. This is exactly the case I refer people to when they scream

'call 911' whenever they hear of someone open carrying an actual firearm, lawfully, in a holster.

Basically it creates out of nothing, the very real probability of a police shooting, plus panic, etc.

[Skittles]

11. carrying a gun for no reason stinks too

[AtheistCrusader]

38. I don't assume I know someone's reasons.

I do, however, keep an eye on their body language, and evaluate their intent.

[blm]

12. Glad this wasn't covered up.

.

[gregcrawford]

13. The has happened hundreds of times...

... bigoted bags of maggot shit call 911 on ANY innocent African American male- even CHILDREN! - and chuckle to themselves, and lower life forms of a sympathetic persuasion, when that person is cut down by over-zealous cops who are often all too eager to notch up a "righteous shoot" to show their buddies that they're now "blooded."

They're all fucking scum.

For the record, my younger son's a cop.

[passiveporcupine]

14. this is wonderful news.

Because if we don't stop this kind of behavior, it will continue.

Yes, change how the police respond to situtations like this, but also don't let racism put you in that spot to begin with.

It breaks my heart every time I think about this young man. Can you even imagine what it would be like to be put in that position, while casually strolling through a store? And to be killed for it? It just galls me.

[Mbrow]

15. Quackers,

I don't know if you and your wife where close to her cousin, But I am sorry for your loss.

[uppityperson]

20. Indeed. I hadn't heard that part, condolences to Quackers family

[Quackers]

32. Thank you

I never knew her but she was related to my wife. I can't believe how long it has been.

[Quackers]

31. I had never met her.

I just remember the phone call we got that evening. It was my MIL telling my wife that there was a shooting at Walmart and her cousin had died. At the time, that's all the info we had. Thank you for the condolences!

[marble falls]

16. About freaking time. Indict the cops, too.

[Chakab]

24. Finally.

[Judi Lynn]

25. Didn't see your post at the time, would like to add that I surely wish it hadn't happened. So sad.

To learn this much more today is shocking beyond all understanding.

Someone had far too much hatred to keep it to him/herself, apparently, and someone taught him to hate so much.

So sorry for your most unexpected tragedy.

[scioto99]

26. I don't get it.

Sounds like everyone agrees that the caller called with good intentions - he believed a man with a real gun was running around Walmart. He was trying to get help in what he believed was a dangerous situation.

He didn't lie - what possible motive would he have for doing so? He called it as he saw it in that moment, using the words that jumped into his mouth in a tense situation. The dispute comes down to him saying "He pointed it at children" when he later used the words "He swung it around and flashed the barrel at children." Not much of a difference.

If it can be shown that he acted maliciously (ie, he knew it was an air rifle and just wanted to cause mayhem) then he belongs in prison. But no one is saying that.

A tragedy happened. The family of the dead person want to pin the blame on someone - that's human nature. The cops are going to spend the rest of their life regretting it. The caller who tried to do the right thing is going to spend the rest of his life regretting it. The dead person is never going to get his life back.

But not every tragedy is someone's fault.

Moral of the story: if you think you see a crime in progress, keep your mouth shut and mind your own business.

[ret5hd]

27. "what possible motive would he have for doing so?"

Yes, let's think on that a second. What possible motive could he have? Hmmm...uhhhh...hmmm.

[scioto99]

28. I must be missing something here.

If he thought it was a real gun, then what's his crime?

[ret5hd]

29. What possible motive would he have???

[scioto99]

30. For falsely calling 911 if he knew it was a fake gun?

In order of likelihood:

--- he thought "haha this will be great fun on a boring night at Walmart."

--- the guy in question was his rival for a job or the love of a beautiful woman, and he wanted to get him imprisoned.

(Which is still a stupid plan, because obviously the most likely outcome would be the cops showing up and saying, "That's an air rifle and you (caller) are a moron who got us out here for nothing." At which point neither the potential job nor the potential lover would be impressed with him.)

-- he's a mentally unbalanced guy who wanted to play hero and get interviewed.

(Which is still a stupid plan because - TOY GUN!)

[ret5hd]

33. Well, it seems you have answered every question you earlier had...

glad to see your evolution.

and congratulations...you never once brought race into it!

[uppityperson]

34. No, everyone doesn't agree he acted with good intentions. There is a HUGE difference in

"He just pointed it at two children." and In the next-day interview, the caller told the Associated Press that the man actually didn't point the gun at people but swung it around and flashed the muzzle at children.

"not every tragedy is someone's fault", true. However, some are. This one lies with the police who over reacted within seconds, and to the caller who lied in their call.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ronald-ritchie-john-crawford_us_57065a21e4b0b90ac2714e86

Along with their complaints, the group submitted a video that synced audio of Ritchie’s 911 call with surveillance footage from Walmart cameras. In it, Crawford can be seen looking at items on a shelf while casually swinging the toy pellet gun. At one point, Ritchie tells dispatchers that Crawford appears to be loading his gun. At another, he says Crawford is pointing the weapon at children.

Root disputed Ritchie’s final claim in her finding.

“The video does not depict this event,” she wrote, according to a copy of the determination obtained by the Dayton Daily News.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/26/walmart-ohio-shooting-charges-911-calller-john-crawford

Ritchie had said of Crawford near the start of his 911 call: “He’s, like, pointing it at people.” He subsequently told the Guardian that “at no point did [Crawford] shoulder the rifle and point it at somebody”, stressing instead that he had been “waving it around” and that the muzzle moved in the direction of other shoppers.

(clip)

Ritchie also told several reporters after the shooting that he was an “ex-marine”. The Guardian disclosed last month that he was thrown out after seven weeks in 2008, after being declared a “fraudulent enlistment”. He states that the problem was a mix-up in his paperwork.

[Chakab]

36. Here's Richie's 911 call synchronized with Crawford's movement in the store from the security

camera footage. You can clearly see that he was lying about Crawford's behavior.

That's not good intentions. It's malice.

[Judi Lynn]

39. This creep found out for himself how easy it is, and risk-free it is to get anyone killed.

Very sad knowing how possible this is.

[center]

Mr. Ritchie, and his victim du jour. [/center]

[Chakab]

35. "Police said he didn't obey commmands..."

They shot him within seconds. If you're minding your own business and somebody comes up behind you and starts barking orders, do you think that you might need some time to process exactly what the fuck is going on?

Not to mention the fact that the officers who responded should have been able to figure out that it wasn't really an active shooter situation when they entered the store. The only people who thought that Crawford was suspicious were the idiot who made the bogus 9/11 call and his wife. You can see from the store security footage that everybody else was going about their business and that nobody was reacting as if there were a madman pointing a loaded rifle at people. Crawford was on his cellphone and using the pellet gun as a crutch when the officers approached him.

The fact Crawford was shot on sight under those circumstances tells you everything that you need to know about how poor the level of police training when it comes to the use of deadly force is in that department (and many others in the US).

[Chakab]

42. As per usual, they refused to idict the cops.

They can pretty much shoot anybody under any circumstance if they claim that they felt threatened. In this instance, Crawford authored his own doom because he didn't drop the pellet gun and fall prone on the ground within a split second of being confronted.

[Solly Mack]

41. K&R

[Liberal_in_LA]

43. Guy purposely lied to cops to back at someone. Said he had a gun. Cops killed him

Not sure iliar was prosecuted

[mark67]

44. I just watched the video for the first time with the synchronized 911 call...

There seems to be an appalling amount of situational blindness for everyone involved...

1. Crawford: May he rest in peace...but what was he thinking...in the day and age in the US with gun paranoia being what it is, profiling...I know I'll get hammered for this...blaming the victim but that's not my intent...the whole situation is so depressing...

2. Caller: What a tool...if he really believed it was a threat...not contacting any managers...not ushering people out of the store...hell, why didn't this "ex-marine who owns assault rifles" yell something at Crawford from down the aisle, "What's up buddy"...but he should probably be prosecuted for his comment about Crawford pointing the weapon at children...a lie...also whether intentional or not, he gives the impression that Crawford is getting geared up, getting ready to go on a shooting rampage...never mentions that the guy is talking on a cellphone...mindlessly waving around the gun...not aiming at anything...

3. Police: someone's been watching too many Steven Seagal movies...Jesus...they shot the guy in less than 2 seconds and Crawford never pointed the weapon at them...

This whole thing is terrible...terrible...terrible...