In May, two Lakewood, Colo., police shot and wounded a man in a Walmart parking lot after the man reportedly pointed a realistic-looking airsoft gun at the officers.
Ohio has no restrictions on carrying BB-pellet guns, the state attorney general’s office said.
A report by the Center for Public Integrity noted that a 1989 federal law requires either “look-alike or imitation toy firearms be manufactured or imported with a permanent bright orange plug at the end of a non-shooting barrel or a body that’s brightly colored.”
The imitation firearm in Tuesday’s Walmart case, though, had no special markings. The center notes that “the federal law excludes traditional BB guns and pellet guns from the color requirement since its ‘muzzle velocity is too high for them to be considered mere toys.’”
Crawford, of Fairfield, was shot twice after police said he refused to drop the rifle and turned toward the officers. Crawford later died at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Customer Angela D. Williams, 37, died of a medical episode at Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek after she collapsed trying to get to safety with her 9-year-old daughter.
The air rifle in Crawford’s hands prompted a 911 call from another shopper who reported a man with a gun walking in the store.
Difficult to tell difference
The realistic looks of these types of air rifles have been a challenge for officers.
Last month, Dayton police nearly fired at a suspect who initially didn’t drop an air gun.
Dayton Police officers Randy Beane and Michael Saylors responded to a complaint in east Dayton on July 21. When they arrived, Mark Petry pulled a handgun and held it at his side, according a police report. After Petry initially refused to drop the gun, the officers were ready to fire but didn’t because of a group of teenagers in the line of fire behind Petry.
Petry eventually dropped the object, but it wasn’t until Saylors recovered the gun that the two realized it wasn’t real.
“We would have shot him if it was not for the group of teenagers behind him,” Beane wrote in the report.
Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said none of his deputies have had to shoot at someone with a look-alike gun, but that some criminals used unloaded air guns because it means lighter sentences if they get caught.
“We have a lot of crimes committed with these, like armed robberies,” Plummer said. “A store clerk can’t tell a difference from a real gun and these fake guns.”
Law enforcement officers are trained to respond with force to any threat that looks like a real, loaded weapon, he said.
“The most important thing people need to know is law enforcement officers are people also, and we strive to go home at night to see our kids as well,” he said. “So if a guy points a gun on a law enforcement officer and he gets warned to drop a gun, he needs to drop the gun.”
The website survivalcache.com cautions users not to look threatening while carrying some pellet/BB guns because “it is very hard to tell a pellet gun from a regular rifle, especially looking down the barrel.”
Ohio is one of 27 states that do not have any air gun laws, according to the website pelletgunzone.com. That website said some states including Michigan, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey consider high-powered air rifles as firearms.
11 state investigators on case
Beavercreek police Chief Dennis Evers asked DeWine to have BCI investigate whether Officer Sean Williams and Sgt. David Darkow properly used deadly force. Officers responded to Walmart because 911 caller Ronald Ritchie said he saw Crawford wave the weapon around people, including children.
DeWine spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said 11 BCI agents so far have worked the case. They include three crime scene investigators, three agents from the special investigations unit, three cyber crimes specialists who inspect cell phones and surveillance video, one criminal intelligence investigator and one supervisor.
Some air rifles were on open, unsecured store shelves Wednesday at the Beavercreek Walmart. Three models were within easy reach of shoppers. A reporter observed one box open with the gun still inside. Beeman, Crosman and Gamo models with names like Silver Kodiak, Fury II Blackout and Bone Collector were outfitted with scopes and muzzle breaks.
The newspaper has requested the incident report, all related 911 calls and any surveillance videos. Beavercreek police Capt. Eric Grile said Thursday that media requests are being reviewed by Beavercreek’s attorney Stephen McHugh, who said information won’t be available until today.
Evers did not disclose if either Darkow, an 18-year police veteran, or Williams killed Crawford. He said the officers arrived on scene within three minutes and acted appropriately when they shot Crawford. Both are on administrative leave.
A review of Williams personnel file revealed several letters of recognition, including one for his actions during a 2010 bank robbery investigation. Williams, a nine-year veteran, was put on administrative leave after he was involved in the city’s first fatal police-involved shooting on June 27, 2010.
He shot and killed retired Air Force Master Sgt. Scott A. Brogli, 45, after the man charged him and another officer while carrying a large kitchen knife. Brogli died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. A nine-member Greene County Court of Common Pleas grand jury determined Williams acted correctly and in self-defense.
Williams also had a letter of discipline for conduct unbecoming of an officer in September 2011. In his most recent job performance review, the officer met or exceeded all of the categories listed.
In 2006, he drew his weapon on a driver who opened his glove compartment and the officer saw what he thought was the grip of a handgun. Williams called for backup and another officer found three soft pellet guns that “greatly resembled handguns.” Williams was commended for his actions.
Darkow’s personnel file was not available Thursday.
NAACP seeks answers
Derrick Foward, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said Crawford’s family has been in touch and that his office reached out to Beavercreek’s police leaders but haven’t heard back.
“The NAACP will assure we have all the facts in front of us first before we make a statement in the case,” Foward said. “We’d like to see video footage of the surveillance cameras in the Walmart store.”
Bobbie Odneal of Cincinnati said Crawford, his best friend, was at his place the day of the shooting.
Odneal said he can’t believe Crawford would be in a confrontation with police. He’s suspicious that video has not been released yet, because he had another friend, Darnell Johnson, who was killed by the Cincinnati police only this past Monday. The video of that incident was released right away, Odneal said.
“This is unreal, why they ain’t showing this video,” Odneal said, referring to the Beavercreek Walmart surveillance video.
Angela Williams’ funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Belton-Stroup Funeral Home in Fairborn, with visitation from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday. Friends said she had four children, including a 9-year-old daughter who was with her when she died at Walmart.
Information on Crawford’s funeral arrangements were not available.
Walmart spokesman Brian Nick said third-party security was added to Beavercreek’s store on Wednesday, but removed around lunch Thursday since it was no longer needed.
Nick wouldn’t address whether any store asset protection managers saw Crawford open any package in person or on surveillance video, but did say there was no security guard in Walmart: “Because this is an ongoing investigation and we’re cooperating with the law enforcement officials, we just can’t get into any specifics about it.”
When asked if she felt safe outside the store Thursday, customer Jacynthia Steele of Fairborn said, “It’ll be a while before people feel comfortable again.”
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