Killing of John Crawford III

On August 5, 2014, John Crawford III, a 22-year-old African-American man, was shot and killed by a Beavercreek Police officer inside a Walmart store near Dayton, Ohio. Crawford had picked up an un-packaged BB/pellet air rifle for sale in the store's sporting goods section and continued shopping while talking on his cellphone. Another customer, Ronald Ritchie, called 9-1-1 and claimed Crawford was pointing the gun at other customers. Security camera footage later showed that Crawford never aimed the BB gun at anyone, though he was seen "waving it around." After the footage was released, Ritchie recanted the claim that Crawford had shouldered and pointed the rifle at someone.

Two Beavercreek officers, Sean Williams and David Darkow, responded to a dispatch call reporting a "subject with a gun" in the pet supplies area. According to the officers' initial account, Crawford did not respond to verbal commands to drop the gun and lie down, and began to move as if trying to escape; believing the BB gun was a real firearm, an officer fired two shots into Crawford's torso and arm. Crawford was pronounced dead at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. The store's security video captured the shooting, showing officers firing almost immediately after entering the store and sighting Crawford; it remains unclear from the footage whether verbal commands were given or whether Crawford was shot before or after reacting to the officers. A second person, Angela Williams, died of a heart attack while fleeing the scene during the shooting.

In the aftermath, The Guardian reported that detective Rodney Curd aggressively interrogated Crawford's girlfriend, Tasha Thomas, immediately after the shooting, threatening her with jail time and questioning her in a manner that caused her to sob uncontrollably; she was not yet aware of Crawford's death during the interrogation. Thomas died in a car crash in Dayton on January 1, 2015.

A grand jury declined to indict either officer on charges of murder, reckless homicide, or negligent homicide. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted its own investigation, during which Officer Williams — who fired the fatal shots — was removed from normal duties. In 2017, the DOJ announced it would not pursue federal charges, citing the high legal standard required to prove willful intent to violate civil rights; Williams returned to full duty afterward.

Crawford's mother has stated her belief that the surveillance footage contradicts the police account, and she has spoken publicly against the killing, including at a "Justice for All" march. Crawford's family filed civil lawsuits for negligence and wrongful death against Walmart, the City of Beavercreek, and the officers involved. In 2020, the city and the family settled the suit for $1.7 million. Ohio State Representative Alicia Reece proposed "John Crawford's Law" to alter the appearance of toy guns to prevent similar incidents. The case drew national and international attention, occurring near in time to the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the death of Eric Garner in New York, and the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and prompted broader discussion of gun rights and race in Ohio, an open-carry state.