Perpetrator
Victim
Date:
August 5 2004Location:
Beavercreek, Ohio
What happened:
A white Ohio police officer, Sean Williams, fatally shot a black man, John Crawford III, in a Walmart store on August 5 2014 after Crawford took a bb/pellet gun off a Walmart store shelf. Williams and his partner were called to the store after someone made a 911 call claiming someone was waving a rifle in the air of the store. Officer Williams later claimed he believed he faced an “imminent threat”, although he acknowledges he and his partner didn’t observe anyone running, screaming or in pain and didn’t hear or smell gunfirenever. Moreover, he never saw Crawford point (what turned out to be a pellet gun) or threaten anyone. Additionally, Ohio is an “open carry state”. Crawford was only 22 years of age when murdered and left behind two sons- nearly 2-year-old John Henry IV and 5-month-old Jayden. Ronald Ritchie, a white man, was the person who called 911 and originally told the dispatcher that Crawford pointed the rifle at two children, which the footage disproves. Ritchie, of Riverside, was the only person to call 911 before shots were fired at the store. Ronald Ritchie later clarified to the Guardian in an interview that “at no point did he shoulder the rifle and point it at somebody”, stressing instead that Crawford had been “waving it around” and that the muzzle had moved in the direction of others shoppers. Again, Ohio is an “open carry state”.
About The Perpetrator:
About The Victim:
Outcome:
Fairborn Municipal Court Judge Beth Root reviewed the filings, including surveillance video synchronized with the 911 recording, and ruled there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Ritchie for misdemeanor making false alarms. She then referred the case for further review by a prosecutor, Mark E. Piepmeier. Piepmeier, in turn presented the shooting case to a grand jury, which had authority to bring charges against Ritchie if they thought it was warranted. However, Piepmeier stated,’I don’t find any evidence that Mr. Ritchie knew any of the information he was providing was false.’ Witnesses believe the prosecutor ignored video segments that indicate Crawford wasn’t doing what the caller described at certain moments, culminating in a grand jury decision that did not hold Rictchie accountable. It was noted that after the grand jury’s decision, Piepmeier had publicly described Ritchie as someone ‘trying to be a good citizen.
Source:
Ronald Ritchie is a white man.
