By Ashley Fantz and Jason Hanna, CNN
(CNN) — The family of a man who picked up a BB gun for sale at an Ohio Walmart and was shot dead by police has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the corporation and police are responsible for his wrongful death.
John Crawford III was black, and his family’s lawyers Tuesday mentioned Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Michael Brown as they announced the suit — evoking cases that have stirred international outrage because those men were also black and killed by police officers. Grand juries chose not to indict officers in those cases, just as they decided not to indict police involved in Crawford’s death in Beavercreek, Ohio.
The shooting happened August 5. Crawford was shopping at Walmart and picked up a BB gun that wasn’t packaged and had been sitting on the store shelf for two days, the Crawford family’s lawyers said Monday.
Attorney Michael Wright said his legal team filed a federal civil lawsuit against two police officers; Beavercreek’s police chief; the city of Beavercreek and its police department; and Walmart.
Through the suit, the Crawford family is seeking at least $75,000, according to CNN affiliate WHIO.
The family alleges, among other things, that the police officers did not use due diligence to determine that Wright wasn’t a threat; that the officers didn’t give him enough time to put down the weapon; and that Walmart was negligent because the air rifle had been resting on a shelf, unpackaged, for at least two days, the family’s lawyers said Tuesday.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2014 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
