CINCINNATI, Ohio – A grand jury looking into the fatal shooting of a man by police in an Ohio Wal-Mart will have to sort out conflicting accounts to determine whether charges should be filed in a racially charged case that has drawn national attention.
John Crawford III, 22, was shot to death last month while carrying an air rifle his family says he’d taken off a shelf at the store in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek.
The grand jury is to be sworn in Monday. It’s not known how long it will take jurors to make a decision.
Authorities have refused requests to release store surveillance video. Ohio’s attorney general says doing so could taint any jury pool.
The family’s attorney says they are cautiously optimistic the grand jury will return charges.
Hundreds of supporters of the family (above) will begin a three-day rally and walk the 11 miles from the store to the Greene County courthouse. Some are demanding the store surveillance video of the incident be released to the public. Attorney General Mike Dewine declined, saying that could hurt the case should it go to trial.
“It’s important for those of us who live in Ohio to understand that this isn’t an isolated incident, but this is reflective of a larger policy agenda and a larger trend in police practices, which we have to address at systemic and structural level,” says James Hayes with the Ohio Student Association, one of the march organizers.
Hayes says supporters want to bring federal attention to the case, and are joining the Crawford family in demanding that the case be taken over by the U.S. Department of Justice.