CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) – An attorney for the family of a man fatally shot by police at a southwestern Ohio Wal-Mart is calling for the U.S. Justice Department to open a civil rights investigation.
Lawyer Michael Wright says the family of John Crawford III wants the federal government to investigate whether race played a factor in the Aug. 5 shooting and to assess whether it was justified.
Crawford was black, and Wright says the two officers involved are white. Police say they shot the 21-year-old for failing to drop an air rifle inside the store.
Wright’s comments came on the heels of a news conference by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who says a veteran prosecutor in southwestern Ohio is leading the investigation and will present the case to a special grand jury Sept. 22.