Man Who Called 911 on Walmart Shopper Won't Be Charged in Fatal Police Shooting

The man who called 911 to report that John Crawford III was walking through the aisles of a Beavercreek, Ohio Wal-Mart with a gun will not be charged in connection with Crawford’s death at the hands of responding officers, according to a report from the Associated Press. Crawford turned out to be holding a BB gun.
An obscure law allowed ten people to file affidavits to the municipal court as private citizens against Ronald Ritchie at the end of March, alleging that Ritchie “created the incident that resulted in the death of not only John Crawford but another shopper by the name of Angela Williams.” Williams, 37, had a heart attack while fleeing the scene with her daughter after hearing gunshots. She died later that same night.
The affidavits were reviewed by a Fairborn municipal court judge who determined that the evidence, including a surveillance video synced to a recording of the 9-11 call, was sufficient for review by a prosecutor. One of the complainants, a local activist named Bomani Moyenda, alleged that the store surveillance video showed Crawford’s actions were not consistent with what Ritchie told police on the 9-11 call.
Mark Piepmeier, the same prosecutor who presented evidence to the grand jury that declined to hand down indictments for the officers who killed Crawford, was the one who reviewed the affidavits against Ritchie. Unsurprisingly, he decided not to charge Ritchie.
“I don’t find any evidence that Mr. Ritchie knew any of the information he was providing was false,” Piepmeier wrote in his decision [...] The original 911 call from Mr. Ritchie was basically, ‘I’m at the Beavercreek Walmart and there is a man walking around with a gun in the store.’ The remainder of his conversation was mostly answers in response to questions from the dispatcher.”
Michael Wright, the lawyer representing Crawford’s family in a wrongful death civil suit against the city of Beavercreek and Wal-Mart, said he did not expect Ritchie to be charged. “There’s an understanding people make bad calls to 911. It’s up to the police to assess the situation. That still should not have led to the death of John Crawford,” he said.